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ELEMENTS




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ELEMENTS
OF
              MEDICAL

JURISPRUDENCE.
BY
    THEODRIC ROMEYN fi£CK, M. D.
Professor of the Institutes of Medicine and Lecturer on Medical Juris-
 prudence in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the Western
 District of the State of New-York, &,c. he.
" PROPERTY ; REPUTATION J LIFE, OFTEN  REST  ON THE  PROFESSIONAL
             EVIDENCE OF MEDICAL PERSONS."

                            London Medical Repository.
IN TWO VOLUMES.

      VOL. II.           .tf *
kjv.u;
ALBANY:

•RINTED AND PUBLISHED BY WEBSTERS AND SKINNERS, AND FOR SAI \
  AT THEIR BOOKSTORE, CORNER OF STATE AND PEARL-STREETS,
     AND BY B. W. SKINNER &. CO. NO. 38, UTATE-STREET.

                    1823.
 9

• 
 
CONTENTS.
                       CHAPTER  I.

                  PERSONS  FOUND  DEAD.

Duties of the office of coroner.  Sketch of the causes which may produce
  sudden death, independent of murder,  (a) Internal disease,   (b) An ex-
  ternal, accidental  cause—rnoxious gases—cold  and hunger—lightning.
  (c) Suicide.  Importance of dissection in all  suspected cases.   1. Direc-
  tions.for performing medico-legal dissection—examination of the head,
  spine, thorax and abdomen.  Distinction between natural appearances
  and the  effects of violence—haemorrhage—ecchymosis—congestions of
  blood—inflammation.   The degree of putrefaction compatible with dis-
  section.  2. Of PERSONS   FOUND DEAD  FROM  NOXIOUS  INHALATIONS.
  (a) Carbonic acid gas—modes in which it may be generated—symptoms
  —appearances on dissectionr.  (6) Sulphuretted hydrogen gas—symptoms
  —appearances on dissection.  3. Of persons found hung.  Modes in
  which death occurs from hanging—appearances on dissection.  Whether
  the person  found hung, has  been  suspended before or after death-r-
  wbether the hanging is the result of suicide or homicide. Cases.  4. Of
  persons found strangled.  Whether this has been actually the cause
  of death. Cases.   Appearances on dissection.  Whether strangulation is
  possible  as an act of suicide.  5. Of persons found drowned.  Exami-
  nation of the signs which  distinguish death by submersion, from death
  previous to submersion—estimate of the value of each. Cases.  Whether
  the drowning was the effect of accident,  suicide, or homicide.  6. Of
  PERSONS  FOUND SMOTHERED.  7. Of PERSONS FOUND DEAD FROM WOUNDS.
  Whether the  wounds are the result of accident, suicide,  or homicide.
  Cases.  8.  Of persons found burnt  to death.  Spontaneous combus-
  tion—cases  of this.  9. Of persons  found  dead from hunger.  Ap-
  pearances on dissection.                                         0
                      CHAPTER  II.

             WOUNDS  ON  THE LIVING BODY.

1. Of wounds in general—division of them—slight, dangerous, and mortal
  —notice of each.  Circumstances which may aggravate the danger of
  wounds—The age and constitution of the patient, and his maladies—his
  passions—negligence or delay—insalubrity of the atmosphere—ignorance
  or unskilfulness of the  surgeon. 2. Nature and prognostics of wounds of
  particular parts—Wounds of the head—of the face—of the neck—of the
  thorax—of the abdomen—of the extremities.  Laws as to the time  with-
  in which death from  wounds is deemed  murder.  3.  Of mutilation—
  French laws against  it—English—American—English  Coventry  act —
  cases under it.                                                 v3 
vi
CONTENTS.
                       CHAPTER  III.

                             POISONS.

Definition of a poison.  Remarkable resistance sometimes observed to the
  action of poisons—in individuals—in animals.   Modes  in which poisons
  may be introduced into the  system.  Division of poisons—division pro-
  posed by Fodere, and adopted  with modifications  by Orfiln.   1. Signs
  of poison on the living body.  Symptoms  of the corrosive or acrid
  poison;;—the  narcotic—narcotico-acrid—astringent.  Causes  that  may
  modify or vary the progress of symptoms.   Preliminary directions for the
  analysis of suspected substances—Insufficiency of  chemical analysis in
  poisoning by vegetable substances—Exhibition of the suspected substance
  to  animals—directions of Orfila on this point.  Of  poisoning during ill-
  ness.  Of slow poisons.  Of poisons administered to several persons at the
  same time—variety in their effects. Of poisoning as the result of suicide
 " or homicide.  Diseases and symptoms that may be mistaken for the ef-
  fects of poison—idiosyncracy—indigestion—sudden illness.   2.  Signs of
  poison on the dead body.   Rules for dissection.   Appearances on dis-
  section from  the corrosive poisons—the  narcotic—the  narcotico-acrid,
  and the astringent—Variety in these.  How far the presence of putrefac-
  tion affects the value of dissections.   Of the introduction of poisons into
  the  body  after  death—Appearances indicative of this.  Slow poisons.
  Appearances observed on  dissection in certain diseases which may be
  mistaken for poison—in  cholera morbus—repelled eruptions.  Phasho-
  mena that may be mistaken—the  vascularity of the stomach—digestion
  and perforation of the stomach—rupture of the stomach.             129
                      CHAPTER  IV.

                      MINERAL POISONS.

Arsenic  White oxide of arsenic. Modes in which it may prove poisonous.
  Internally,  (a) Us exhibition by the mouth.  Symptoms.  Classification
  of these—when the patient survives the effects—when he lives beyond a
  day or two—when he dies within a few hours,  (b) By injection into the
  rectum or vagina. Externally,  (a) Applied to  a wound  or ulcer, or
  even to the skin.  Effects of this.  Cancer plasters,   (b) By inhaling its
  vapours.  Appearances on dissection, in those who survive several days
  —in those who die in a few hours.  Whether putrefaction follows rapid-
  ly after death  in  these cases.  Effects of arsenic on animals.  Jaeger's
  experiments—Brodie's  experiments.  Chemical proofs.   1. Tests or re-
  agents  (a) Lime-water.  (6) Ammoniaret  of copper,  (c) Sulphate of
  copper,  (rf) Sulphuretted hydrogen,   (c) Nitrate of silver.  (/) Iodine.
  (g)  Nitrate  of potash,  (/i) Chromate  of  potash.  2.  Reduction  of the
  metal, (a) Its reduction with  the black flux,  (b)  The  garlic smell.
  (c) The tombac alloy, (d) Its reduction by the galvanic pile.  Difficulties
  that may occur when the poison is mixed  with animal or vegetable sub-
  stances.  Modes of removing these.  Effect  of tests on various mixtures
  of arsenic with aliments and  drinks.   Inquiry into  the  degree of  proof
  necessary to determine  that arsenic has been administered—whether its
  rgduction to the metallic state should be deemed indispensable—objec-
  tions to this.  Medico-legal  cases—Miss Blandy—Nairn and  Ogilvie —
  Miss. Burns—Kesler.  Antidotes.   Propriety of laws  prohibiting the un-
  restricted sale of arsenic.  Arsenites.  Arsenic acid. Sulphur els of arsenic.
  .Black oxide of arsenic.  Arsenical hydrogen.  Metallic arsenic.  Mercury 
                         CONTENTS.                        VU
                                                      r

Corrosive sublimate.  Modes of exhibition.  Internally,  (a) Its exhibi-
tion by the mouth.  Symptoms.  (6) By injection.  Case of Sir Thomas
Overbury.  Externally.  Applied to a wound  or ulcer,  or to the#skin.
Appearances  on  dissection.  Effects  on  animals.  Chemical proofs.
Operation of  various animal and vegetable substances on corrosive sub-
limate—Effect of tests on these mixtures.  Antidotes.   Red precipitate
and red oxide.  Other mercurial preparations.  Mercurial vapours, and
mercury in a state of extreme division.   Injurious effects of these.    179
                       CHAPTER  V.

             MINERAL  POISONS  (CONTINUED.)

Antimony.   Tartar emetic.  Symptoms—appearances on dissection—effect
  on animals—chemical proofs—antidotes.  Oxide and glass of antimony.
  Muriate and sub-muriate.  Antimonial wine.  Anlimonial vapours.  Cop-
  per.  Metallic copper—its ready oxidation.  Oxide and carbonate.   Ver-
  digris.   Symptoms—appearances  on dissection—effect  on  animals—
  chemical  proofs—antidotes.   Zinc  Sulphate.  Symptoms—chemical
  proofs—Whether metallic zinc is a safe substance for domestic utensils
  Tin.  Muriate—effects—tests—antidotes.   Silver.   Nitrate—effects—
  tests—antidotes.   Fulminating silver.    Gold.   Nitro-muriate—tests.
  Fulminating gold.  Platina.  Nitro-muriate.  Bismuth.  Nitrate—tests
  __antidotes.  Iron.   Sulphate.  Lead.  Acetate. Symptoms—effects on
  animals.   Cerusse.   Water impregnated with lead.   Litharge.  Articles
  of food or drink contaminated with lead.  Earthen vessels glazed with
  lead__action of vinegar, apples, milk, on them.  Adulteration of wines—
  cider—rum.  Saturnine emanations. Symptoms—chemical proofs—wine
  test—antidotes.  Phosphorus.  Effects.   Iodine.  Effects.  The con-
  centrated acids.   Sulphuric.  Symptoms—appearances on  dissection
  —chemical proofs—treatment. Nitric.  Arrangement by Tartra, of poi-
  soning by  it, into four classes.  Symptoms—appearances on dissection—
  chemical  proofs—treatment.    Caustic  and  carbonated alkalies.
  Potash. Sub-carbonate of potash. Symptoms—appearances on dissection.
  Soda.  Ammonia.   Barytes and its salts.  Effects on animals—symp-
  toms—chemical proofs—antidotes.  Quicklime.  Liver  of  sulphur
  Effects—appearances on  dissection—treatment. Nitre.  Symptoms—
  appearances on dissection—treatment.   Sal ammoniac Gases.  Chlo-
  rine, gaseous and fluid.  Nitrous acid gas. Sulphurous acid gas.  Nitrogen.
  Carbonic oxide. Glass and enamel ?  Remarkable medico-legal  case.
  General directions  for ascertaining the nature of  a suspected mineral
  substance  by chemical  tests—soluble substances—insoluble substances.
  Laws on poisoning, when death does not immediately follow.       280
                      CHAPTER VI.

                     VEGETABLE  POISONS.

V Irritative or acrid poisons—Veratrum  album—viride.  Helleborus
  nii^er—foetidus.    Bryonia dioica.  Elaterium   Colocynth.  Gamboge.
  Daphne gnidium—mezereum—laureola.  Ricinus communis.   Euphor-
  bia officinarum, and other species.   Savine.   Rhus radicans—toxico-
  dendron—vernix.  Anemone pulsatilla, and  other species.  Aconitum
  napellus, and other species.  (Enanthe crocata—fistulosa.  Ranunculus 
viii
CONTENTS.
acris, and other species.  Colchicum  autumnale.  Chelidonium  majus
—glaucium.   Delphinium  staphysagria.   Narcissus pseudo-narcissus.
Gratiola officinalis.  Jatropha curcas—manihot.  Scilla maritima.  Se-
dum  acre.   Rhododendron   chrysanthum—ferrugineum.   Fritillaria
imperialis.  Pedicularis palustris.  Cyclamen europceum.   Plumbago
europoea.   Scammony.  Cerbera.  Cynanchum.   Lobelia syphilitica—
longiflora—inflata.  Apocynum.  Asclepias.  Hydrocotile vulgaris. Cle-
matis vitalba,  and other species.  Pastinaca.  Saelanthus.  Calla  palus-
tris.   Phytolacca decandra.  Croton tiglium.  Various species of  Arum.
Equisetum hyemale.   Oil of tansy.  Symplocarpus fcetida.  Treatment
of persons who have taken these  poisons.  OXALIC  ACID.  Symp-
toms—appearances on dissection—effect on animals—tests—antidotes.
Tartaric and citric acids.   2 Narcotic poisons.  Opium—its compound
nature—symptoms—effects, even in small doses, on children—appearan-
ces on dissection—effects on animals—treatment   HyoscyamHS niger—
albus, and other species.   PRUSSIC ACID.  Symptoms—effects on ani-
mals—tests—treatment.  Plants which contain prussic acid—laurel wa-
ter— case of Sir Theodosius Boughton—bitter almonds—kernels of the
peach.  Lactuca.  Solanum.  Taxus baccata.  Actsea spicata.  Physalis
somnifera.  Azalea pontica.  Peganum harmela.  Ervum ervilia. La-
thyrus cicera.  Paris quadrifolia.  Gelseminum  nitidum.  Treatment.
3. Narcotico-acrid  poisons.   Atropa  belladonna   Datura stramoni-
um, and other species.  Nicotiana tabacum.   Digitalis purpurea.   Coni-
um  inaculatum.   Cicuta  virosa—maculata.   Brucea  antidysenterica.
Laurus  camphora.   Cocculus  indicus.   Poisonous mushrooms—their
characters—symptoms—appearances on dissection.  Alcohol.  Sulphu-
ric  ether.  Ergot.  Lolium temulentum.  Diseased wheat.  Anagallis
arvensis.  Aristolochia clematitis.   /Ethusa  cynapium.   Ruta graveo-
!ens.  Nerium oleander.  Mercurialisperennis.  Chaerophyllum sylves-
tre.  Sium latifoliura. Coriaria myrtifolia.  Upas Tieute—Upas  antiar.
Strychnos nux vomica.   Strychnos ignatia.  Ticunas.  Woorara.   Hip-
pomane mancinella.  Curare.   Calidium seguinum.   Ava.  Spigelia ma-
rilandica.   Kalmia latifolia.  Sanguinaria canadensis. Treatment 369
                     CHAPTER Vn.

                       ANIMAL  POISONS.

Cantharides—symptoms—effects on animals—appearances on dissection—
  treatment.  Lytta vittata.  Poisonous serpents—the viper—rattlesnake
  —variety in the effects of its bite—mockasin snake—antidotes against
  the bite of serpents—treatment of persons bitten.   Scorpion.  Tarantula.
  Bee—humble bee—wasp—hornet.  Poisonous fishes—catalogue of these
  —rcause of fish  poison—treatment.  Muscles—oysters—crab—lobster—
  mackerel—dangerous  effects of  these at certain seasons of the year.
  Ornithorynchus paradoxus.  Toad.  Pheasant or partridge—its poisonous
  nature  at some  seasons—cause.   Poisonous  honey—cause—effects__
  treatment.  Dangers of dissection—consequences occasionally produced
  by slight injuries during dissection—treatment                     452 
MEDICAL  JURISPRUDENCE.
CHAPTER  I.
PERSONS  FOUND  DEAD.
Duties of the office of coroner.  Sketch of the causes which  may produce
  sudden death, independent of murder—(a) internal disease—(6) an exter=
  nal, accidental cause—noxious gases—cold and hunger—lightning—(c)
  suicide. Importance of dissection in all suspected cases.  1.  Directionsfor
  performing medico-legal dissection—examination of the head, spine, tho-
  rax, and abdomen.  Distinction between natural appearances and the
  effects of violence—haemorrhage—ecchymosis—congestions of blood-
  inflammation.  The  degree of putrefaction compatible with dissection.
  2. Of FERSONS  FOUND DEAD FROM NOXIOUS INHALATIONS.  (a) Carbonic
  acid gas—modes in which it may be generated—symptoms—appearances
  on dissection.  (6) Sulphuretted hydrogen gas—symptoms—appearances
  on dissection.  3. Of persons found hung.  Modes in which death oc-
  curs from hanging—appearances on dissection. Whether the person found
  nuchas been suspended before or after death—whether the hanging is the
  result of suicide or homicide.  Cases. 4. Of persons found strangled.
  Whether this has been actually the cause of death. Cases. Appearances on
  dissection.  Whether strangulation is possible as an act of suicide. 5. Of
  persons found drowned.  Examination of the signs which distinguish
  death by submersion, fiom death previous to submersion. Estimate of
  the value of each.  Cases.  Whether the drowning was the effect of ac-
  cident, suicide, or homicide   6. Of persons found smothered. 7. Of
  persons found dead from wounds.  Whether the wounds  are the re-
  sult of accident,  suicide, or homicide. Cases.  8. Of persons found
  burnt to death.  Spontaneous combustion—cases of this.  9. Of per-
  sons found dead from hunger.  Appearances on dissection,

   Death, even when it  is the  consequence of disease,
 is  often an unexpected  event.   But if an  individual
 expire under his own roof,  surrounded by friends and
 relatives,  we are disposed to consider it as an ordina-
 ry dispensation of Providence, and one  to  which  all
 of us are sooner or later doomed.   The features of the
 case differ materially, when a person is found dead on
 the  highway,  on the banks of a river,  or in a lonely
 place.   Indeed, if  he be discovered  to have  paid the

      VOI,  II.                   2 
10
PERSONS  FOUND  DEAD.
last debt of mortality, either in a sudden manner, or at
a distance from his home, the laws of civilized society
demand an investigation of the cause,  and over  this
investigation, the officer called a Coroner, is appoint-
ed to preside.
  It will readily be observed from the above remarks,
that the office in question is an important one.  The
duty of the coroner extends  to an examination of the
circumstances connected with every case of sudden or
suspicious death, and he is to make this with the aid
of a jury, summoned by him for the purpose.   Future
proceedings  are  regulated by the verdict that they
may pronounce.
  " In many instances, the  evidence of medical men
is required.   Sometimes, indeed, the facts are so clear,
that no professional opinion can be wanted,  but when-
ever there  is the  least uncertainty,  such opinions
should be taken, and for the most part a dissection
must be made."
  The importance of medical testimony in tne cases
now under consideration, will readily be appreciated.
It may, and indeed frequently does, decide  on the life
of an individual ;  and some preliminary cautions res-
pecting the conduct of the physician or surgeon, may
hence with propriety be introduced in this place.
  The first observation which I shall offer,  is a cau-
tion to the examining physician, not to permit sudden
prejudice to warp  his mind.  There is nothing more
common among the populace,  who crowd around the
bodies of persons  found dead,  than to suspect that
they have been murdered, and the idea, instead of being
judiciously combatted, if untrue, is permitted  to gain
strength by repetition.   Against  charges of  this  na-
ture, the physician  should always be  prepared,  and
never allow them to have any influence over him.  He
should proceed to the examination of the body with a
mind free from prejudice.  He should also recollect,
that sudden death is not an uncommon event, and that
those who, at one moment, we see before us in the full
enjoyment of life, may,  at the next, be cold  and inani- 
PERSONS  FOUND DEAD.            11
mate.  The secret, operating causes of this change,
may remain unknown to us, and we can perceive on-
ly its effects.  In addition to this, there are many cir-
cumstances which may be the origin of the sudden de-
cease,  and to  which the person affected has been for
a time exposed, without any knowledge of their con-
sequences.   Of this nature, are the breathing of nox-
ious gases,  the use of improper aliments, or of un-
healthy water.   The passions also, if highly excited,
or a purely accidental cause,  may respectively have
caused the sudden death.  And, lastly, the destruction
of life may have been caused by the person himself.
All these possible circumstances should be recollect-
ed, and before a case of this kind is referred to a cri-
minal court, on the decision of a physician, which  is
generally the case, he should feel perfectly convinced
that death has not originated from one of the three fol-
lowing causes : 1. Some internal  cause.  2. Some
external, accidental cause ;  and 3.  Suicide.   On
each of these a few observations will be necessary.
   (a)  The sudden rupture of an aneurism in one  of
the large cavities, frequently produces instant  death.
So also does the bursting of purulent cysts in  one  or
other of the viscera.  But  in both these cases, there
are generally premonitory  symptoms which indicate
danger, and indeed cannot have passed without no-
tice.  Apoplexy, however, is a disease which, in some
instances,   may be  mistaken in  its early symptoms,
and may terminate fatally in situations which preclude
any observation of the event.   We should here at-
tend to the conformation of the body—the large head,
short neck, and  plethoric frame:  to the posture  in
which  the  person is  found—the food  he has lately
eaten—and the ligatures  that  surround  any  part.
What is termed serous apoplexy, sometimes leaves no
traces of disease, and practitioners have hardly been
enabled to  suggest  the  cause of death.  In  this in-
stance, however, if no suspicious appearances be pre-
sent, there can  of course  be  no mistake as  to the
cause.   But in ordinary cases of apoplexy, an exami- 
12            PERSONS FOUND DEAD.

nation of the brain and stomach sufficiently developed
the nature of the complaint, and it should be borne in
mind, that the individual may.  when seized, fall from
a height, and thus bear the marks of external injury.
  It is not necessary, nor indeed would it be practica-
ble, to enumerate all the causes of  sudden death  be-
longing to this division of our subject.  A stroke of
the sun, a fit of violent anger, intemperance in the use
of spirituous liquors, epilepsy,  gout, and a variety of
other agents, have produced the sudden  extinction of
life.*
  fbj. The  external accidental causes  which may
produce sudden death,  are, amongst others,  the fol-
lowing :  exposure to  noxious  gases—to  cold and
hunger—an immoderate use of spirituous liquors—the
imprudent drinking of cold water when heated., aud
lightning.
  The first  of these is sometimes made an instrument
of murder, and as such,  I  shall hereafter  notice it.
But at present, it may be observed,  that accidents fre-
quently occur from noxious  inhalation,  accompanied
with  circumstances  that sufficiently  indicate  their
cause.  Such, for example, is the case when miners
are found dead near the places where  they worked—
when a body is found near a lime kiln,  or when  life
is suddenly destroyed ongoing into a well, or a cellar
that has been long shut.   The use of charcoal in close
chambers, has proved fatal to many.   The evidence
in all these instances is sufficiently powerful to assign
the cause to accident, unless the appearance of the bo-
dy leads to  a different opinion *
   Death from exposure to cold, is not uncommon, and
if it happen at a distance from  towns or dwellings, is
generally characterized by circumstances not to be mis-
taken.  It  may  however occur in populous places,
and it is then more liable to misconstruction and sus-

  * Some remarkable cases of sudden death are  mentioned by Mr. Cheva-
lier, in the Medico-Chirug. Transactions, vol. 1, p. 157.  He denominates
the disease asphyxia idiopathica.  The heart, on dissection, was found flac
eid, and all its cavities were entirely empty of blood. 
PERSONS FOUND DEAD.
IS
picion.  It is a  ready conjecture that the sufferer has
made an attempt on his own life, and in all such cases,
marks of hunger will generally be found  combined
with  the other  appearances.   Dissection must  here
also be the guide, and we shall hereafter indicate the
points most worthy of attention.
   The same remark applies to those who die from tak-
ing a quantity of spirituous liquors.  The fluid  here
acts literally as  a poison, and it will be considered as
such in a subsequent chapter.   But there is a cause of
sudden death, which is becoming quite frequent during
our summers, and which is altogether accidental.   I
refer to  the drinking of cold water, when the body is
heated from exercise.  The person whose imprudence
instigates him to this, generally falls down dead in a
few moments.   It is not to be supposed that any great
change from the state of  health will be observed on
dissection, and  we must therefore rely principally on
the history of the case.  It is to be regretted that ex-
aminations post mortem have not been made morefre-
quently in these instances.
   As to death by lightning, it may be remarked, that
this is usually distinguished by a variety of appear-
ances.   Sometimes the viscera are destroyed, without
any external  mark being present, while in others there
is nothing to  be  seen but a small hole.   Again,  there
will be great external injury observed.   But the most
common accompaniments are discoloration of the skin,
generally in the form of streaks..  These are of a red
colour, and it has been remarked, that they are  pecu-
liarly to be traced in the direction of the spine.   " It
is also said,  that the bodies of  persons killed in this
manner are unusually flaccid, that the blood is found
in a fluid state, and there have been inflammatory ap-
pearances internally."  These however are not to be
viewed as conclusive, since they are observed in death
from other causes.*   But if an individual be found in

  * Tire bodies of those who are struck by lightning, are not always found
flaccid.  Dr. Francis mentions that he has seen a case  where the  muscles
immediately became excessively rigid, and he refers to Beccaria for a simi-
lar example.  New-York Med. and Phys. Journal, vol. 2, p. 21. 
14
PERSONS FOUND DEAD.
an open place, ofr under a tree, shortly after a thunder
storm,   with the  ordinary  appearances mentioned
above,  we may  attribute his death to lightning,  and
particularly so, if the metallic substances about him
are found melted and his clothes  burnt or consumed,
while the dissection exhibits nothing adverse  to the
idea.*
   (c) Whether sudden death is caused by suicide or
homicide, is often a most difficult question  to deter-
mine.  I shall here only  allude to some general cir-
cumstances which require attention,  and  reserve the
more minute examination  for the respective sections of
this chapter.
   The moral history of the  individual ought to be as-
certained—his  disposition  of mind,  and his worldly
condition.  It is a proper subject of enquiry, whether
he has met  with losses or  disappointment;  whether
he has been  solitary in his habits, and whether  any of
his family or connexions have an interest in his  death.
The season of the year should be noticed.  Dissection
also,  should not be omitted.   Morgagni observes that
he found  the brain of  maniacs of an  extraordinary
hardness, and Durande and Fourcroy, have found in
suicides associated to this state of the brain, an indu-
ration of the liver, with  calculi  in the gall bladder.
The  circumstances of each case deserve close and at-
tentive examination, since each has its peculiarities.f
   The importance of medico-legal dissection will be
readily observed after a perusal of these  preliminary
observations.  It is in fact the only sure guide for the
physician,  and the necessity of attending to it is  in

  * Many cases of death or injury by lightning, together with the appear-
ances observed, are to be found in the Philos. Trans.  See vol. 1, p  222, 247
Vol. 5, p. 2084.  Vol. 19, p. 311.  vol. 20, p. 5  Vol. 21, p. 51. Vol. 22, p.
577. Vol.  26, p. 137. Vol. 33, p.  360.  Vol. 34, p. 118.  Vol. 36, p. 444.
vol. 48, p. 86. Vol. 51, p. 38.  Vol. 52, p. 515.  Vol. 62, p. 131. Vol. 63, p.
177and 231.  Vol. 66, p. 493. Vol.71, p. 42. Vol.77, p.61 and 130. Vol.
80, p. 293.   There is also an interesting account of the celebrated death of
Rich man at St. Petersburgh, vol. 49, p. 61.
  t The general course of remark in these preliminary observations, is taken
from Fodere, vol. 3, p. 1 to 14,and its similarity to sec. l,chap.2, of SmithV
Med. Juris, will be readily observed bv those who peruse the latter work. 
PERSONS  FOUND  DEAD.            15
culcated by every sentiment of professional pride, as
well as  by the feelings of common humanity.  The
medical examiner generally dictates the verdict of the
coroner's jury, and it is but a sorry excuse, after a
suspected individual has lain for months in a jail on
the strength  of  his opinion,  then  to come before a
court and say he drew wrong inferences  from exter-
nal appearances, or  on the other  hand, to  meet a
brother practitioner who invalidates his opinions, and
demonstrates  the crudeness  and insufficiency of his
investigations.
  In further  noticing this subject, I shall consider it
under the following sections :
   1. Of medico-legal dissection.
   2. Of persons found dead from noxious inhalations.
   3. Of persons found hung.
   4. Of persons found strangled.
   5. Of persons found drowned.
   6. Of persons found smothered.
   7. Of persons found dead from wounds.
   8. Of persons found burnt to death.
   9. Of persons found dead from hunger.
   The  subject of wounds generally,  and of poisons,
would  probably, in perfect strictness, belong to the
present title, but as they are very extensive and im-
portant in their nature,  I prefer considering them in
distinct chapters.  This division will also allow  us
to consider their effects upon the living body.

           1. Of medico-legal dissection.

   Under this head, I shall give general rules for the
 examination  of dead bodies, applicable to all cases
 where investigations are required.  There are, how-
 ever, some instructions particularly required in in-
 stances of supposed poisoning, which I shall postpoue
 till we come  to that chapter.
   The manual  published some  years since on this
 subject, by Dr. Rose in  Germany, and translated  by
 Dr. Marc into French iu  1308,  is  so complete  and 
16            PERSONS FOUND  DEAD.
excellent in its matter, that I shall copy from its pages
with great freedom.*
   Before proceeding to the dissection, it  is proper
first to examine the external situation and appearance
of the body, and to facilitate the investigation, the fol-
lowing  rules may be observed.   1.  If the death be
apparently caused  by a wound, the body should be
first viewed,  if possible, exactly in the  position in
which it was found.  By moving it, the attitude of the
extremities may be altered, or the state of a fracture or
a luxation changed, since the internal  parts vary in
their position with one another, according to the ge-
neral position of the body.  If it is absolutely neces-
sary to remove it, it should be done with great cau-
tion.  2.  The clothes should be removed,  as  far as
is necessary, and it should be noted what  compresses
or bandages  (if any) are applied to particular  parts.
3.  After these preliminaries, we must examine the
colour of the skin, the temperature of  the body, the
rigidity or flexibility of the extremities, the state of
the eyes, and  of the sphincter muscles, noting  at the
same  time whatever swelling, ecchymosis, wound,
ulcer, contusion, fracture or luxation, may be present;
also any fluid  flowing  from the nose, mouth,   ears,
sexual organs, &c.  and indeed every  thing varying
from the natural state.   The above cavities should be
inspected,  and particular attention must be paid to
the state of the skin, so  as not to mistake  that bluish-
brown tinge  which indicates  the commencement of
putrefaction,  for ecchymosis.   The distinction  be-
tween these we shall presently explain.
   At this period,  it  may sometimes be necessary to
delay the dissection for a few hours, and the wish of
the examiner is of course to prevent putrefaction.  To
effect this, it has been recommended to put the body
in a cool place,  and cover it with ice,  or it may  be

 * See the title in the list of works consulted.  I must, however, remark,
that the dissertation of Mauchartus de inspectione el sectione legali, resp. J.
M. Sabner, published at Tubingen, 1736, and republished in Schlegel, vol.
2. p. 76, anticipates most of the directions that are given by Rose. 
PERSONS FOUND DEAD.
17
sprinkled with spirituous or aromatic substances.  If
it  is intended to preserve it for some time, it should
be washed with a strong solution of common salt and
alum.  The cadaverous smell present during the ex-
amination, may be obviated in a great degree, if the
change be not too far advanced, by passing a current
of chlorine, or the fumes of tobacco,  through the
chamber.
  From  the period when the dissector commences,
uutil he  concludes,  there should be a clerk at hand
taking down all the facts  he  may from time to time
communicate,  and this  should not  be  delayed until
the examination is completed, as many circumstances
of importance may otherwise escape his memory.
  If there be an external lesion present, it should
first be examined, and its nature described—its length,
breadth and depth—also whether it has been inflicted
with a cutting, pointed, or round instrument—whether
it is accompanied with inflammation or gangrene, and
whether  any foreign bodies are found in it,  such as
balls, or pieces of cloth.   The scalpel should then be
employed to trace its extent, but with judgment, so as
not to rendei our researches useless, and to prevent a
comparison of the external wound with the internal
injury.   The nerves and blood-vessels, and particu-
larly the arteries that are wounded, should be named,
as should also the viscera, if any are in that state.  If
there  be  a contusion without a solution of continuity,
the injury found in the internal parts should be  par-
ticularly noticed, such  as extravasation,  rupture of
vessels, &c.  If the cause of death is  a burn, its de-
gree and extent should be examined,  together  with
the state  of the parts affected, whether inflamed mere-
ly, or  covered with  blisters—the fluid  contained in
these blisters, and the condition of the neighbouring
parts, whether sphacelated or gangrenous.   If a lux-
ation or fracture be  present, notice the surrounding
soft parts—the nature  of the injury, whether simple
or complicated, and the phenomena indicating the
progress of disease or of recovery.
vol. it. 
18
PERSONS  FOUND  DEAD.
   Having  stated all  these circumstances,  it is next
necessary to proceed to the dissection in a systematic
manner,  and the rule  here is,  to commence with an
examination  of  the abdomen, as  that part is most
liable to run into putrefaction.   We, however, should
not desist because we  suppose that the cause of death
is perfectly discovered in one or the other cavity :  all
of them should be investigated.
   On viewing the head, the integuments are to be in-
spected,  and all injuries done  to them are to be no-
ticed.  In  particular,  if a wound appear to be inflict-
ed by a sharp-pointed instrument, its depth, direction,
and connection with the  brain, should  be minutely
traced.   The presence of inflammation, oedema, or
sphacelus,  must also  be remarked.  The same ob-
servations apply to injuries from cutting instruments.
The bones of  the cranium are next to be laid bare—
search is to be made if there be no fissures or  frac-
tures, taking care at the same time  not to mistake ir-
regular sutures for them ;  and for this purpose, they
should be  rubbed over with ink.   The strength of
these bones is also deserving of minute inspection, as
they not unfrequently are so  thin or soft  as to render
a blow very destructive, but which  under ordinary
circumstances would only produce slight injury.  The
fracture should  always be followed throughout  its
whole extent.
   The membranes and the brain must be  carefully in-
spected.  Let it  be noticed whether any pus or blood
is interposed between the dura mater and the bones,
or whether it  is detached or inflamed.  All morbid
appearances in structure  deserve  attention, and the
state of  the vessels of the brain,  the fluids present,
and their situation, together with  the changes iu the
substance,  are   highly deserving  of attention.  It
should, however, be remembered, that  death some-
times follows from blows  on the head, when no in-
ternal lesion can  be found on dissection.  It has been
abundantly proved, that the connexion between the
brain and the viscera of the thorax and abdomen are 
PERSONS  FOUND DEAD.
19
the cause of this,  and the injury  is therefore to be
looked for in the latter.
  The vertebral column must be viewed throughout
its whole extent, as to its being fractured, or dislo-
cated,  or contused.   This part requires strict atten-
tion, since injuries of it are often of a very complicated
nature.   Fodere quotes a case from Jaeger, of a per-
son who was struck on the neck, by a loaded waggon,
with such violence that both his upper and lower ex-
tremities became paralytic.   He  died  in eighteen
hours after the accident.  No  external  appearances
of injury could be observed, although an  examination
readily indicated that the seat of disease was some-
where near  the sixth cervical vertebra,  and accord-
ingly, on dissection, its spinous apophysis  was found
broken at its base, and separated from its body, while
blood was extravasated to the amount of four ounces.
  We should inquire carefully whether the neck
bears any marks of external injury, or traces of ec-
chymosis,  or pressure on  it.   Examine the great
blood-vessels,  whether they are filled with blood, or
empty—and the nerves, whether they are in their na-
tural state.   The oesophagus, pharynx,  and  larynx,
must be noticed.   If wounded,  detail the  extent,
depth, and shape of the injury, and particularly if the
lesion is caused by fire-arms—its course, and the  loss
of substance present, together with the inflammation
or suppuration (if any) existing, should be stated.
  On proceeding to the thorax, it should first be as-
certained whether the injuries it has received,  are
superficial,  affecting  the integuments  and  muscles
merely, or whether they extend to  its cavity.   If the
latter,  the following are  subjects worthy of observa-
tion.   The  blood-vessels—the  bones covering the
thoracic  viscera, enquire whether  any of these are
fractured, luxated, or diseased.   Next, as to  the re-
spective  organs—notice the lungs,  and their internal,
as well as  external condition—the pericardium  and
its contents—the heart and its great vessels—the  dia-
phragm—the thoracic duct, and the phrenic nerves;: 
20
PERSONS FOUND DEAD.
all injuries or diseases of these should be stated in
the report.
   Lastly, as to  the abdominal cavity.  Its external
covering forms  a subject  of enquiry.  Every spot,
swelling, or extravasation,  should be noticed, as also
whether hernia be present, or whether there is any tu-
mefaction of the part.  The organs peculiar to either
sex, should be examined, and also the various viscera
contained in this cavity—the stomach, mesentery, li-
ver, spleen, gall-bladder, intestines, bladder, &c. &c.
We should view each part as to the quantity of blood
which naturally belongs to it—trace all extravasations
as to their quantity and nature, and  particularly en-
quire whether the changes  observed  are the result of
disease, or of sudden injury.  Professor Mahon re-
commends the use of a blunt pointed bistoury in exam-
ining the intestines, as this may prevent injury during
the dissection.   The contents of the stomach and in-
testines should  be analyzed, and those  of the gall-
bladder and urinary bladder inspected.
   All wounds should be probed cautiously, so as not
to produce greater injury than is already present, and
the blood that is extravasated in a cavity,  should be
carefully removed, before a new dissection is commen-
ced.  In this way,  the quantity appertaining to each
can best be ascertained.  If any  of the viscera seem
to require a more strict investigation, they may be re-
moved from the  body after the general dissection.
   From this enumeration, it will readily be seen how
necessary an accurate  knowledge of anatomy  is  in
such cases, so as not to  mistake the appearances which
are naturally found for extraordinary occurrences, or
the effects of disease for those of violence.
   Having completed the  dissection, the notes should
be taken and reduced to  order, and in preparing  the
report,  or in giving testimony,  it should be as simple
and plain as possible, avoiding all those terms which
are unintelligible to a court and jury.*

  * The most valuable writings on medico-legal dissection, are Marc as al
ready stated, p. 1 to 54. Mahon, vol. 2, p. 217 to 257. Ouverlure des Ca- 
PERSONS FOUND DEAD.
21
  While forming an opinion, the physician must re-
collect, that there are certain phenomena observed  on
the bodies of the dead,  which may be mistaken for
the effects  of violence, and yet are only the conse-
quence of previous maladies.   Again, there are oth-
ers which  are  the  result of  the extinction  of life,
while by the vulgar,  they are deemed proofs of  mur-
der.  A notice of these may  be useful,  in order to
establish  the distinction between violence  exercised
on the living or the dead body.   I shall mention the
following :  Haemorrhages, ecchymosis, congestions of
blood, inflammation, and marks of severe suffering.
   Haemorrhage is supposed  by many  to indicate an
existence of the circulation when it commenced, and
accordingly they consider it  prima facie  evidence,
that life was present when the supposed violence was
offered.  On this, however,  it may be remarked, that
if such a rule be laid down as universally true, it will
lead to dangerous errors.   It is frequently observed
by anatomists  on  opening the bodies of those dead
from apoplexy, or malignant  fever, that blood flows
from the mouth, nose or ears.  The blood in these in-
stances is of a black colour, and  apparently more flu-
id than in  its  natural state.  Haemorrhage,  then,  if
observed on the dead body, is of itself no proof that a
lesion was  inflicted on the living one,  and in  order to
wiirrant an  opinion  of this kind, the large vessels
should be found empty,  and the blood of a florid  red
colour.
   E'-chymosis, contusion, sugillation, and various co-
loured spots on the skin, are also appearances that
may occasionally lead to error.  It is important that
thedistinction between these terms should be properly
understood, and the following observations from Bel-
loc are therefore worthy of remembrance.   The term

davres,  and Fodere, vol. 3, chap. 1, sect. 1.  Some valuable remarks may
also be found  in Dease's Remarks on  Medical Jurisprudence. It will
be understood that every species of violent death, requires an investigation
in some decree peculiar to itself, and the minutiae of this will be noticed
under each section. I have only thus far laid down general rules, and post-
poned the rest to prevent repetition. 
22
PERSONS  FOUND DEAD.
 contusion, is derived from the  Latin word contundc
 re, to bruise or pound, and hence conveys  a similar
 meaning.  Ecchymosis is a Greek term, and is equi
 valent to effusion, or spreading of blood into the cellu-
 lar tissue.   It  is  present whenever the contusion  is
 sufficiently violent to produce  the rupture of a blood
 vessel, and it communicates a colour more or less livid
 to the skin.
   Contusion may then exist without ecchymosis, but
 the latter is always the consequence of the former,
 and  both  originate  from some external cause.  Ec-
 chymosis differs from Thrombus in being less circum-
 scribed,  and possessing the characteristics  of a tu-
 mour in a less distinct degree.
   Sugillation is also an effusion of blood into the eel
 lular membrane, resembling at first view an ecchymo-
 sis,  but it originates from internal causes,  such a*
 the commencement of  the putrefactive  process, and
 hence often occurs in  the living body.  The livid,
 dark coloured  spots, which under the above circum-
 stances,  are often  seen,  belong to this division, and
 they must  be  familiar to those  who view the bodies
 of persons  dying from malignant fevers, scurvy, &c*
  It  will readily be remarked,  how  important an ac-
 curate distinction  between ecchymosis and  sugilla-
 tion must become,  in doubtful cases.  Zacchias has
 suggested the  following : when this discoloration is
 the consequence of external violence, a congestion of
 thick concrete blood will be found, but in the sponta-
neous spot or sugillation, the blood on incision,  will
be seen fluid.   There  is probably considerable truth
in this, although observers have not, in all cases, pro.
ved  the  difference.  Stoll, of  Vienna, examined the
bodies of two females,  who died of petechial fever
and observed spots which extended to a considerable
depth, and  contained a laige quantity of extravasated
blood.  They had  all the appearance, he adds, of be-
ing caused  by external injury.f.

  • Belloc, p. 315, 316.          t Mahon, vol. 2, p. 210, 211 
PERSONS FOUND  DEAD.
23
  Belloc relates an instructive case which came with-
in his own observation.   During the prevalence of an
epidemic small pox,  a husband,  maltreated his wife,
who  was five months advanced in pregnancy.  He
gave  her several kicks on the thighs and abdomen.
A week afterwards, she was seized with the  small
pox,  and died in a fortnight after the injury,  covered
with dark coloured spots, and also with  marks of the
disease.   In this condition  she was buried, but her
relatives hearing of the ill treatment she had received,
complained of the husband, and the body was accord-
ingly disinterred and examined by physicians.  They
decided  both from the symptoms present during her
illness,  such as violent  haemorrhage  from the nose,
and from the appearances observed on the bodies dead
from  this epidemic,  that the  cause of, death was the
small pox,  and that the sugillations were the  conse-
quences  of its malignity.*
   I should  not recommend an implicit dependence in
the test of Zacchias, although it certainly deserves at-
tention.   When sugillation is supposed to be present,
it should be  particularly noticed whether  it appears
on a depending part.  The time that has elapsed since
the  death of the subject,  and the prevalence  or ab-
sence of putrid epidemics, also require consideration.
On one point, however, we should place a strong reli
ance, aud that is, when marks of this kind leave a dis
tinct impression of the instrument of murder.   Thus
on a person hung, an ecchymosis marking the  course
of a rope, is a certain proof, and again, similar marks
of cords  on the extremities indicate most conclusively
that  these injuries  have not been  inflicted on a dead
body.f

  * Belloc, p. 317, 318.
  t Marc, p. 11.  See also Bose de sugUlatione inforo caute dijudicanda,  in
Schlegel, vol.4, p. 67.  The following case may be read with profit by all
medical men. John Stringer was tried at the Lent assizes, held at Kings-
ton in the county of Surry, in the year 1765,  before the late Chief Baron
Smythe, for the murder oi bis wife, and found guilty. It appeared that
they had frequently quarrelled, and a young surgeon gave it as his opinion,
that some appearances in the corpse were somewhat the appearances of a mor-
tification occasioned by bruises.  Mr. Carsan, an eminent surgeon in the 
24             PERSONS FOUND DEAD.
    Congestions of blood in the viscera are of>n  found
 after death in persons who have been  subject to dis-
 ease.   In such cases, the  vigour of the circulating sys-
 tem and the action of the Fiervous one,  are illustrative
 of the truth,  since on dissection,  if violence has been
 used, they bear the mark  of having occurred recently,
 and they are also particularly noticed in the head and
 lungs,  while in ordinary cases,  they are more exten-
 sively diffused.   It should  also be remembered that
 blood is sometimes found  extravasated in one or more
 of the large cavities,  and  is to be considered as a na-
 tural appearance unless we find some of the blood ves-
 sels  injured.   Fodere  quotes a  remark  of  Vicq
 D'Azyr,  respecting the presence of  several drops of
 blood  being almost always  observed by him  on dis-
 section in the torcular herophili, and that great anato-
 mist attributes this to  the  position in which  the  head
 is usually placed  after death.   The blood goes to the
 depending part.*
   Wounds received before death, are marked by red,
 bloody and separated edges.   Those inflicted after-
 wards, are livid,  and their edges close to each other.
 Similar appearances characterise contusions or blows
 in which there has been no solution of continuity, and
 on dissection they are, if inflicted on the living, found
 to be sub-cutaneous wounds : vessels are seen torn and
 fluids extravasated, and the whole exhibits the marks
 of tumour in its elasticity  and circumscribed  shape.

 neighbourhood, had, on the report of the murder, from mere  curiosity, ex-
 amined the body, and was so clear  that there were no marks of violence
 thereon, that he had not the least apprehension of the possibility of String-
 er's being convicted ; but hearing of it, he stated the case to the Archbishop
 of Canterbury, obtained a respite from Baron Smythe,  and finally was the
 means of obtaining a complete pardon from the King.  Phillips' Law of
 Evidence, Appendix, p. 105.
  * Fodere, vol. 3, p. 30.   In hot climates, or even in the hot season of the
year, it must be remembered, that the changes are most rapid.  Dr John
Davy mentions a  fact observed by him in Ceylon, which deserves atten-
tion.  It the interval between death  and the examination of the body was
twenty or thirty hours, the serous and mucuous membranes appeared red
and inflamed, and particularly those parts which are most exposed to the
action of  the blood, as the valves, and the lining membrane of the heart
and blood-vessels.  1 he viscera also  appear dark and livid. He attributes
this to the exudation of bloody serum, which tinges the parts in such a
manner as to exhibit the appearance of real inflammation. Wedicu-Chirur*.
 Transactions, vol.  10, p. 8«.                                 fc 
FERS0NS  FOUND DE*AD.
25
Violence to the dead body can only produce livid flac-
cid spots, unattended with  engorgement  or tumour*
Gangrene also is marked by its being surrounded with
a red edge : putrefaction is not, and the spots caused
by the latter  are of various colours.   Dry gangrene
cannot take place on the dead body,  since there is no
heat, or action of vessels to produce it, but the disor-
ganization observed, is of a humid nature.
   There are  circumstances, however, which invali-
date the importance of this sign, and render it some-
what doubtful.  Thus for example, a man may die of
a  wound,  before inflammation  commences.  Others
are so debilitated,  that wounds  on  them have livid
and dry edges, and after death, can scarcely be dis-
tinguished from  those inflicted on the dead.   These
circumstances should be kept in mind.
   The signs which seem to indicate pain or spasms,
should be observed, but never greatly depended upon,
since a natural death is often preceded by them.*
   The following case may serve as a useful corollary
to the observations  contained in this section.
   The widow Montbailly of St. Omers, aged  sixty,
and of a very gross habit, was much addicted to in*
toxication, and in fact was inebriated daily.  On the
27th of July, 1770, at 7, A. M. she was found dead
in her chamber, laying on a trunk which had  sharp
edges.   A physician and surgeon visited the body on
the next day, (thirty-two  hours after her death had
been discovered,)  and reported  that they found ec-
chymosis and contusions on the  arms, thorax, and
particularly  oyer the third,  fourth, and fifth ribs.
The neck and upper part of the breast were also ec-
 chymosed.   The head was swelled—blood was ex-
 travasated under the skin  of the face, and the nose
 was filled with clotted  blood.   On  the eyelid there
 was a wound of nine or ten lines in extent, which pen-
 etrated to the orbit,and which might have been caused
 by a  sharp or cutting instrument, but could not,  in

   * On these equivocal signs, see Mahon, vol. 2, p. 200 to 217; Mort Vie*
 bnte; and also Fodere, Loco Citato.
     VOL. II.              4 
26
PERSONS  FOUND  DEAD;
their opinion, have produced sudden death. On open-
ing the body, all the internal parts were  found in a
natural state.
  The reporters gave it as their opinion,  that the ec-
chymosis, the swelling of the head, and the extrava-
sated blood, were occasioned either by a  fall, or  by
blows from an opposing body, and that the female
had died either from the liBemorrhage  occasioned  by
the wound, or from  suffocation.
  A physician who from curiosity had attended the
examination, but who was not of  the commission,
stated that  the eye was ecchymosed, and that the
edges of the wound  were irregular and indented.
  On combining the result of this inspection, with the
fact that the defunct had formerly repeated quarrels
with her son and daughter-in-law, it became the pre-
vailing opinion that they had  murdered  her.  The
superior court of Arras, before  whom the cause was
tried, condemned Montbailly and his wife to be bro-
ken on the wheel, and it was actually executed upon
him.  The wife claimed a  delay  on account of her
pregnancy, which was granted.  During this interval,
a revision of the  trial was procured, and the  cele-
brated Louis was consulted, as to the point whether
the facts stated proved  that the woman had been as-
sassinated.  The result of his investigation was, that
there was no certain proof of the commission of mur-
der, and that all the circumstances enumerated were
stronger  proofs of  the individual having died from
apoplexy, than from any other cause.  The following
are some* of his reasonings and remarks :
  Intemperance predisposes to sanguineous apoplexy,
and the  reporters have neglected their duty  in not
opening the head of the deceased, since by doing so,
the condition of the internal parts would have explain-
ed the cause of the haemorrhage.  Again,  a person in
a state of intoxication,  and predisposed to this com-
plaint,  would  on falling  against any sharp edged
substance,  naturally lose  a considerable  quantity of
blood, and  also have the arteries and veins ol  the 
PERSONS  FOUND  DEAD.
27
head  much  distended.  He totally discards the idea
that the haemorrhage from the wound of the eye was
a cause of death.
  As  to the ecchymosis, or livid spots, found on the
thorax and arms of  the deceased,  arid which the re-
porters attributed to blows or falls, M.  Louis ob-
serves, that they are the ordinary  appearances found
on those who die in a state of intoxication, and among
others, quotes the following case in confirmation, from
Morgagni.  A beggar went to bed drunk,  and died
suddenly during the  night.  This was at the end  of
January,  1746.  On the next evening he was carried
to the anatomical hall in Padua, and on the third day
after  his death he was dissected.   Morgagni found
the body still warm.  The scrotum was ecchymosed,
of a red colour, the  face filled with blood, not only un-
der the skin, but all the  muscles,  the membrane that
separated  them and the glands, appeared engorged.
Louis remarks, that these spots  should  have been
particularly examined, in order to have founded any
 charge upon them.
   It  appeared further, that the body was examined
at  the end  of the month of  July.   Might there  not
have   been  some incipient putrefaction  present, and
would not this account for the swelling of the head,
the lividness of the thorax, and other similar symp-
toms  ? As to  the  wound in the  eye, the  reporters
themselves leave its effect uncertain, while  the cause
might have been accidental.
   Ou these grounds, Louis gave it as his opinion, that
the report was inconclusive, and  that there were no
proofs of assassination.  The superior court of Arras
 accordingly,  in 1772, revoked their decision, exone-
 rated the  memory of Montbailly,  and  enjoined the
 physicians and surgeons thereafter to extend the exa-
 minations to every part of the bodies of those found
 dead, and also to state in  their reports the scientific
 reasons for all opinions they might give.*

  * Fodere, vol. 3, p. 64, from the Causes Celebres. See also, at page 98, &
 similar case from the same. Cause de Chassagnieux. 
28
PERSONS  FOUND  DEAD.
   It  will form a proper conclusion to this section, to
notice what degree of putrefaction is compatible with a
proper  dissection.  This question  often arises when
bodies are disinterred for examination, and  on trials,
it is also a fruitful source of discussion.
   Putrefaction commences gradually when the  vital
principle is extinguished, and after a certain period,
which, however, differs in different bodies, according
to the previous diseases,  the season of the year, its
temperature,  &c. it produces an extensive disorgani-
zation, confounding the cause of death, and rendering
it dangerous  for any one  to examine the body.  In
such  cases, it is evidently not the duty of the physi-
cian or surgeon to risk  his life.   Louis the 15th of
France,  died from small pox, and his body  was pur-
ple and gangrenous with the disease.  The chamber-
lain desired,  that  according to etiquette, La Martin-
iere, the first surgeon to the king, should open the bo-
dy.   This last, being aware of the danger,  observed
that he would  perform his part, provided the cham-
berlain, according  to the same etiquette, was present,
and held the head  of the deceased during the  opera-
tion.  He warned  him, however,  at the same time,
that he could not answer for his life, if it was done.
The chamberlain spoke no more  of it,  and the king
was interred without any dissection.*  I mention this
anecdote for the benefit of those who may be impro-
perly urged by magistrates.
  After a certain period then, it will be impossible to
form a correct judgment on the state of the soft parts,
nor ought any investigation to be permitted, since it
can only lead to conjecture.   There is however an
exception, and that is, when wounds have been inflict-
ed by fire arms, or by an instrument which leaves them
of a considerable size.   The traces of these  are gen-
erally so very distinct, as to be judged  of on bodies,
for a considerable period after death.  The  blows of
an axe, says  Fodere, were very visible in one case,
* Belloc, p. 321. 
PERSONS  FOUND DEAD.
29
where the body had been buried thirty days.  This
subject however retained a more than ordinary degree
of freshness.
   This difficulty respecting the soft parts is of course
obviated, when we  examine the hard parts.  A frac-
ture may be  as distinctly observed and is as good
proof, two months  after death as one day,  and this
notwithstanding the putrefaction that may be present.
A dead body was found in the field, in the arrondis-
sement of Trevoux, during the month of May 1811.
The surgeon,  deterred by the putrefactive  smell, re-
ported  generally that  he had discovered no marks of
violence.   Meanwhile, some ditchers, on interring the
body, remarked that, on thefall of a handkerchief which
covered the head, the  bones of the cranium detached
themselves, and the brain issued out.  The imperial
attorney immediately  ordered a special examination
of the head, and it was found that this person had re-
ceived three blows from  a cutting instrument,  which
separated the parietal  bones from the skull.  The as-
sassins, after committing the crime, had replaced them
and secured  them with a handkerchief bound very
tight.   They were afterwards discovered  and pun-
ished.*
   Many  circumstances  develope or delay  the pro-
gress of putrefaction.  Heat, humidity and the contact
of air accelerate it, and it is always most rapid, when
from the presence of a typhoid disease, it appears to
commence before life is  extinguished.  Interment de-
lays putrefaction,  and  some species of earth, more
 than others.   Taking these facts  into consideration,
 it will be found useful to attend to the following state-
 ment of  the  progress of  putrefaction,  and the com-
 parative utility of dissection in each.  It has been pro-
 posed by Dr. Boissieu.
   First degree.   A  tendency to  putrefaction.   It
 consists in a slight alteration of  the body,  a softness
 of the flesh, and a disagreeable odour.   Dissection is
 practicable and still useful.  And here let me remark,
* Fodere, vol. 3, p. 92. 
30
PERSONS  FOUND  DEAD.
that all appearances, even those  which  are deemed
certainly indicative  of putrefaction, should be stated.
They may prove the foundation of useful deductions.*
  Second degree.    Commencing  putrefaction.   A
foetid  odour is present,  the fleshy parts become  light
and assume a  dark colour.   Dissection is already
dangerous, and can be of no use except in particular
cases.
  Third degree.  Advanced putrefaction.  The parts
exhale an  ammoniacal  odour mixed with a putrid
smell.   They fall into  dissolution, and their colour
is constantly altering.  Dissection  is  impracticable
and useless.
  Fourth degree.   Complete putrefaction.  This is
known by the complete dissipation of the ammoniacal
odour, and  also by the putrid smell loosing its strength.
The volume and weight of the parts is much dimin-
ished, and they separate into  a gelatinous mucus,
which gradually dries, and at last becomes an earthy
and friable mass.f
  A consultation by  the celebrated Petit, will form a
commentary on the subject now concluded.
  A young man aged twenty, who a short time previ-
ous, had passed through a mercurial course, amused
himself during the whole day, of the 25th November,
1774, on the ice.  In the evening, although in a state
of perspiration, he put his naked legs  and thighs in
the  snow and  remained there  half an hour.   He re-
tired to bed as usual, and in  the morning  was found
dead.  The burial took  place without any formali-
ties.  Ten  months after, on a suspicion that he had
been murdered, the body was disinterred and examin-
ed.   On opening the thorax, a large quantity of blood
was found in the left side, between the pleura and the
ribs, and corresponding to it externally, there was an
extensive appearance of contusion.   The question
was put to Petit, whether this indicated that a blow
had been inflicted.   He  answered in the negative and
* Marc, note top. 4
♦ Fodere, vol. 3, p. 73, 74. 
PERSONS  FOUND DEAD.
31
observed, that during thirty years experience, he had
always  observed  these ecchymoses to occur  on the
commencement of  putrefaction—that the  epidermis
gradually  separated from  the skin,  and on opening
the latter,  a greater or less  extravasation was  found.
This state was particularly  to be expected in a young
man,  who died  suddenly,  and  full of blood.  The
length of time that had elapsed, the consequent uncer-
tainty of the proofs, and the danger of the dissection,
are also adverted to by him.   In consequence of this
opinion, the suspected persons were liberated.*

 2. Of persons found dead from  noxious inhalations.

   A vast proportion of the gases, discovered by mod-
ern chemists,  are irrespirable.  Few of them,  howev-
er, are  spontaneously  generated, and their noxious
power must of necessity be extremely circumscribed.
We shall notice  such  as have proved  destructive  to
life, under the head of poisons.   But there are some
which  may be produced under  ordinary circumstan-
ces, or are occasionally the results  and accompani-
ments of peculiar situations and occupations ; and of
these, none is more deleterious  than  carbonic acid
gas.   This substance  may be  generated  in  various
ways.   1.  When a number of persons have remained
during a long time in an apartment, or any other place
where the air  is not renewed.  They mutually vitiate
the air,  and produce,   by the process of respiration,

  * Fodere1, vol. 3, p. 75 to 79.  There are some English law cases which
deserve  mention, with reference to the present subject. " A man hanged
himself, and the jury found him possessed of a messuage, which as &felo dt
se, he forfeited.  Pengelly, Sergeant, moved to stay the filing of this inqui-
sition, upon an affidavit that the man died five years before, and the coroner
dug up a skull, which  he knew by a  particular mark was the deceased's,
and thereupon the inquisition was taken, which he insisted ought to have
been upon view of the whole  body,  tliat the marks, if any, may appear.
Court.  Stay the filing till further notice."  (The King v. Bound.  Strange's
Reports, vol. 1, p. 22.)  in another case, (Queen v. Clerk,)  where an  in-
quisition had been quashed, though the body had lain buried for seven
months, the coroner took it up,  and had another inquisition found.  This
was complained of.  Holt, Chief Justice, said, " The body may be dug up
again, but it ought to be upon fresh pursuit, and not at such a distance of
,tim«; for it is a nuisance, and may infest people."  Salkeld, p. 377. 
32            PERSONS  FOUND DEAD.

the poison in question.  The  most striking and mel-
ancholy instance of this occurred at Calcutta, in 1756.
When that place surrendered  to  Shujah Dow la, he
thrust one  hundred  and  forty-six  Englishmen  into
the black hole, at  Fort William, a place only eigh-
teen feet by fourteen,  and having only two  apertures
through which air could be admitted.   They remain-
ed here from eight in the evening, until the next morn-
ing, when only twenty were alive.  A somewhat sim-
ilar instance happened in London, in 1742.  Twenty
persons were forced into a part of  St. Martin's round
house,  called  the hole, during the night, and in con-
sequence,  several  died.   The surgeons on this  oc-
casion gave it as  their opinion, that when  the doors
and windows  were shut, the place could not support
twenty  persons without danger of their lives.*  In-
dividuals, in  a  state of suffocation from this cause,
are  seized with  an unsupportable thirst.  A copious
perspiration is present, and great pain in the chest,
difficult respiration, and intense fever follow.   They
lose their  strength, and fall into  a deep lethargy,  to
which death soon succeeds, if aid be not speedily gi-
ven, f   2. The fumes of burning charcoal, consist prin-
cipally  of this substance and  carbonic  oxide.  This
is unfortunately  a frequent cause of death.  Persons
on going to bed, leave pans of it burning in their apart-
ments, and in the morning are found lifeless. J  3. Car-
bonic acid gas is contained in the exhalations from lime
kilns,|| and cellars, where wine, beer, or other liquors
are in a state  of  fermentation.  Hence the danger of
sleeping near the former, and the necessity of venti-
lating the latter.   4.  This gas is frequently  produced

  » Smith, p. 206.
  t Orfila's Directions, p. 170.
  IA large number of cases of this description is quoted by Dr. Dobson, in
an essay contained in Percival, vol. 1, p. 328.  See also Phil. Transactions,
vol. 52, p. 454.
  || " June 19, 1813. This morning, two lads  were found senseless on a
brick-kiln in St. George's Fields.  The eldest was recovered by medical as-
sistance, but the other was lifeless. It is supposed that they had resorted to
the kiln for the sake of  warmth, and having fallen asleep, were  suffocated
by its fumes."  Edinburgh Ann. Register, vol. 0, part 2, p. 64. 
PERSONS  FOUND DEAD.
33
 in wells, marshes,  and mines.  In the latter, how-
 ever,  a different substance is also  generated, called
 the fire-damp, or carburetted hydrogen gas, which is
 no less deadly.  But the frequency of fatal accidents
 to persons descending wells, is to be ascribed to car-
 bonic acid.*
   " Persons affected by this agent, feel a great heavi-
 ness or  pain  in the head, intolerable singing  in the
 ears, a great disposition to sleep, and so great a loss
 of strength  as to be unable to support themselves up-
 right,  great  difficulty of breathing, and violent palpi-
 tation of the  heart, followed by a  suspension  of the
 respiration and circulation.  The senses no longer ex-
 ercise their functions,  and  sensibility appears to be
 extinct, f
   If they are discovered,  after the gas has had its
 full operation, their bodies present the following  ap-
 pearances :  the head, face and neck are swollen  ; the
 eyes are propelled from their sockets,  but preserve
 their  brilliancy often for two  or  three hours after
 death  ; the tongue is protruded, swollen,  and inclined
 to one side of the mouth ;  the jaws are firmly closed ;
 the face is livid ; the lips are of a dark blue colour ;
 the abdomen  is inflated  ;  the body  preserves its
 warmth for  a  length of time, and sometimes indeed is
 warmer than natural,  while the limbs remain flexible
for some  hours.J
   It will be understood, that in some cases all of these
 appearances are not present, although  the majority
generally are.   Much  depends on the  temperament

  * I will add to these the following curious case.  On the 12th of May,
 1650, some forge men at Leipsic were  drinking in a chamber, where a child,
 twelve years old, was asleep.  They amused themselves with passing a halt
extinguished candle under its nose. The child awoke, but again fell asleep,
 and tliey continued this course for half an hour.  It was shortly after seized
 with convulsions, or epileptic fits, and died  in three days after.  The pa-
rents complained of this to the ma'istrates, who consulted the Faculty of
Medicine.  They answered, that the fumes of a candle were identical with
the vapours from charcoal and lime, and would produce the same delete-
rious effects.  Valentini's Pandects, vol. 1, p. 195.
  t Orfila's Directions, p. 160.
  i Struve, p. 52.  B Hoc, p. 184, 185.  See also  the history of three case.'
by Dr. King, in the E lin. Med. and Surg. Journal, vol 7, p. ISO.  lie re-
marks, that the fingers and toes were curved, and the nostrils dilated
    VOL.  II.                  5 
31
PERSONS FOUND  DEAD.
of the individual,  and hence the  face is occasionally
of a pale colour.                             .
   As respiration has been interrupted by  this agent,
the passage of the blood through tbe lungs  is impe-
ded, and consequently its transmission  from the right
to the left side of the heart.  We find,  accordingly,
on dissection, that the blood vessels, and particularly
those of  the head and lungs, are filled w ith blood,
and this fluid is principally accumulated in  the right
side of the heart, and in the veins leading to  it.   I he
blood itself is black, and so fluid, that it is  discharged
readily  from the smallest incision.   Effusions of se-
rum, tinged with blood, are found, particularly in the
ventricles of the brain,  and in the bronchia?, while the
muscles are so soft, as to be torn by the slightest ex-
ertion.   The epiglottis is always elevated.*
   The  peculiar appearances which I have described,
are  important guides  in determining  the cause  of
death.  Dissection  should never be omitted  in a case
where there is the least uncertainty of its being an ac-
cident.   The loss of irritability in the muscles is strik-
ingly greater from  this cause  of death, than is ever
seen in  cases from drowning,  hanging, &c.  and  it is
therefore worthy of particular  attention.   We should
also notice  whether no marks  of injuries are present,
which may excite doubt.   The place, the circumstan-
ces  under which the body is found,  the noxious  ma-
terial that has been inhaled, all deserve investigation,
 and may lead to the truth.
   Asphyxia also occasionally  happens from  inspiring
the exhalations of privies and  common sewers.   The
noxious substance in this instance, is sulphuretted
hydrogen  gas ;  and this,  even when  mixed with  a
large quantity of atmospheric air, is a very  powerful
poison.f

  * Portal, in Medical Commentaries, vol.3,p. 254.  Belloc, p. 184.  Dr
Babington's  case of exposure to the vapour >f burning charcoal, in Medi-
co-Chirurg. Transactions, vol. 1, p. 93. Orfila, vol. 2, p. 347.  Larrev, vol
2, p. 128.                                         ''
  t According  to Thenard and  Dupuytren, it is sufficient that the air con-
tains l-1300th of sulphuretted hydrogen,  in order to kill a bird in a verv 
              persons  found dead             35

  •'*' When the  exposure has lasted but a short time,
the sufferer experiences a general uneasiness, accom-
panied  with nausea and  sickness ; his respiration
becomes irregular, but not difficult, and his  pulse
much agitated ; the  skin is cold, general convulsions
take place^and the muscles of the chest and face are
particularly affected.
  In cases where an individual has been long expos-
ed  to the action of this gas, all power of motion and
sensation is lost; a  frothy saliva, tinged with blood,
flows from the mouth ;  the lips and face are livid, the
eyes are shut,  and void of all brilliancy ;  the pupil
fixed and  dilated ;  the pulse is small and frequent,
and the respiration short and difficult, and apparently
convulsive ; the action of the  heart becomes disorder-
ed and violent: and the extremities are in  a state ol
relaxation.  To this succeeds an  agitation more or
less evessive, the  muscles are attacked by alternate
 spasms and convulsions, and the body is curved back-
 wards,  while the individual appears  to suffer trom
 acute pain."*
   In  one case where death followed,  and  dissection
 was performed forty hours after death,  the head and
 trunk were already putrid, the skin bluish, and ele-
 vated by gas.  The blood contained in the various ca-
 vities was black and fluid.   The brain  was greenish
 and tender.  The bronchise were of a red colour, and
 the posterior part of the lungs were gorged with black
 blood, but that organ was generally crepitous.   1 he
 stomach presented traces  of a recent irritation, and the
 internal canal was greenish.   The liver, of a greenish
 black  colour, was in a state of congestion.  All the
 viscera exhaled the smell of  putrid fish, and several
 of  the persons  present at the dissection, were subse-
 quently  affected with lassitude  and stupor,  sleep-

 little time ; that which contains 1-S00th, produces death in a dog of middle
 size, and a horse dies in an atmosphere containing 1-250th part of it. Oi Il-
 ia, vol. 2, p. 371.
   " Orfila's Directions, p.  167, 168 
36            PERSONS found dead.
lessness,  and violent cholic*  Experiments on ani-
mals have  presented similar results.!

             3.  Of persons found hung.
   We understand by the term hanging, the suspen-
sion of a person by a cord, or some other ligature
round the neck.  The rapidity of  death from it  de-
pends much on the manner in which the cord is  ad-
justed—the texture and strength of the intervertebral
ligaments—the fulness of the blood-vessels, and  the
strength of  their coats.   All these circumstances, to-
gether with  that of the weight of the body, will render
a shorter or longer space of time necessary to destroy
life.  Thus, for example, he will survive the longest,
whose organs are of  a firmer texture,  whose vessels
contain but little fluid, whose neck is long, and whose
body is meagre.
  It  seems  now to  be well ascertained, that death
from this cause may occur in one of two ways.  The
first has generally been deemed a species of apoplexy,
produced by pressure on the large blood-vessels that
go to the head.  The circumstance, howTever, that  ac-
tually takes place, is a deep sleep, arising from  the
cerebral compression, unaccompanied with the symp-
toms that attend apoplexy, and in no case of recovery,
followed by the ordinary termination of that disease,
viz. paralysis.:£  Fodere  has collected some curious
cases in illustration of this.   Wepfer mentions an  in-
stance of a man and  woman who survived hanging.
The latter recollected nothing, and the former stated,
that on the  application of the cord, he felt no pain,
but sunk as  it were into a profound sleep.  Morgagni
also mentions, that an individual who recovered under
similar  circumstances, informed him,  that the first
sensation  was flashes of  light before  his eyes, and

 * New-England Journal, vol. 8, p. 279. Account of three cases extracted
from the Nouveau Journal de  Medicine, for April, 1818
 t Orfila, vol. 2, p. 374.
 * ?! «",f Dcas? of,susPended  animation by hanging, by Robt. John Thorn
ton, MD.  &,c. in the Lon. Med. and Phys. Journal, vol. 16, p. 529 
PERSONS FOUND DEAD.
Tt
that he then sunk into the same  sleep.  Our author
also quotes a case  on the authority of Lord Chancel-
lor Bacon.   A  gentleman took a fancy to ascertain
whether those who were hung experienced any  pain,
and actually performed the experiment on himself.
He immediately lost all consciousness, and the event
would have been tragic,  had  not a friend entered in
time to cut him down.*
   In these, and other cases on record, there does not
appear to  have been  any of that  convulsive  state
which generally accompanies  apoplexy in a greater
or less degree,  nor  in any instances were they suc-
ceeded by  paralysis.  It hence seems most probable,
that asphyxia precedes death, which,  however, will
most certainly follow,  if  aid be not  afforded.   The
compression interrupts the circulation between the
head and the large blood-vessels proceeding from the
heart, but  it cannot prevent the circulation of the in-
tervertebral veins and  arteries, and death of course is
not an immediate consequence of suspension, at least
if no other fatal cause be interposed.  The immediate
cause  of the stoppage of respiration, is undoubtedly
the pressure on the nerves which are subordinate  to
that function.
   It will, therefore, be more accordant to facts to say,
that the first cause of death  is an interruption,  and
then a cessation of the nervous action, and of  course
of respiration and circulation.  There are still indi-
viduals, says Fodere, living in Marseilles, who, dur-
 ing the French revolution, weie hung, and their lives
 saved  in  the night time, and who for a long  period
 were affected with a ringing of the ears, and a species
 of deafness, indicating in a satisfactory manner that a
 lesion of the nervous action had taken place, f
    The phenomena that  present themselves  on in-
 specting the bodies  of those who die from hanging in
 this way,  are the following  : the mark of the  cord
 is evident around the neck, forming a livid, depressed
- Fodere, vol.3,p. 134-5        t Ibid. p. 140. 
38
PERSONS FOCND DEAD.
circle—the  face, chest,  shoulders, arms and hands,
are swelled  and livid,  and  often a bloody mucus  is
sues from the mouth and nose*—the  countenance  is
distorted—the eyelids generally open, and the eyes
red  and  projecting----the tongue  i«  occasionally
wounded by the convulsive motions of the jaws, and
frequently thrust out  of the mouthf—the shoulders
are raised,  and ecchymosis is  observed  upon them,
extending upon the breast,  and down the arms—the
fingers are bent, and the  hand nearly  closed.
  The second cause of death from hanging, is one for
which there is no relief.   It consists, in  addition to
the compression, iu a  laceration of the trachea or la-
rynx, or a luxation or fracture of the cervical vertebra?,
occasioned by a rupture  of the ligaments of the neck.
The celebrated Louis  enquired of several execution-
ers, how they saved the lives of some criminals, while
others were irrecoverably dead ?  They answered,
that they caused, in the latter case, a laceration of the
trachea, and  luxation of the  first cervical vertebra
from the second, by placing the knot of the cord undei
the neck, and then giving a rotatory motion to the body
at the moment when the ladder was taken from under
his fect.ij:   This luxation  chiefly occurs in  heavy
persons, or  where they may have  fallen from a height
upon the  end of the  rope, or where attempts have
been  made  to hasten death by increasing the  weight
of the body.   So violent also  is  this sort of death,
that the faeces, urine,  and even the semen,  are often
expelled.||   And the rapidity of the extinction of life
is well  illustrated by the result, in cases where the
vertebra are injured.
  Dissection  is of course indispensable in every cast
that may come before a criminal  court.   The neck

  * De Haen, vol. 4, p. 338.
  t Dr. Smith remarks on this sign, 'that it is only produced when the rope
presses upon the cricoid cartilage ; when it presses above the thyroid gland,
the tongue will be pushed back, owing to the compression of the os hvoides.
Smith, p. 217. See also Belloc, p. 170.
  t Fodere, vol. 3, p. 141.  Dorsey's Surgery, vol. 1, n. 207
  || Male. p. 233.  Smith, p. 217. 
PERSONS  FOUND DEAD.             39
should be carefully  examined—all  external marks
and  internal  injuries  noticed,  and  in particular the
condition of the cartilages.   The principal vessels  of
the neck and head  are generally filled with blood,
and the latter sometimes ruptured, and we should ob-
serve whether there  is any extraordinary fulness be-
low  the  mark  of  the cord.   The lungs are usually
livid, and its vessels, togetlier with  the right side  of
the heart, are full of  blood.  The  pulmonary  cells
are distended, and do not collapse wheu the  chest  is
opened.
   I must not, however, omit  to remark, that occasion-
ally  the countenance of persons  hung remains  pale,
and  bears but few external marks of cerebral  com-
pression.   The suddenness  of  death may  probably
explain these rare  appearances.*
   The  medical witness may be asked two questions
with respect to this subject,  which it  behooves him to
investigate.
   I.  Whether the person found suspended was  hung
before  or after  death P or  has he  been  previously
killed  in some  other  way,  and then  placed in this
situation, to avert suspicion.
   This question may be generally answered by  refer-
ring to the data  already laid down.  When the person
has been hung alive,  the  discolorations  produced by
the rope  are very distinct,  and  pass all  around the
neck.  The  impression also will be  of a  red colour,
and  accompanied  by  that  suffusion of countenance
which  we have  already mentioned.  On the contrary,

  '* I add the following circumstance in  this place, merely as a historic  cu-
riosity.  "March 16, 1814. On opening a vault at St. Maryport  church,
Bristol, the workmen discovered, very deeply concealed, a coffin of gro.it
antiquity.  It is generally supposed that the corpse it contained was  the
body of----Yeoman, Sheriff" of Bristol in 1643, when the city was  surren-
dered  to the parliamentary army by Prince Rupert.  Mr. Yeoman was
hanged in Wine-street, opposite his own house, by order of Fairfax, for  his
attachment to the royal cause.  The body was in the highest state  of pre-
servation, handsomely accoutred in the  costume of  the day, with  gloves
similar to those which the sheriff's at present wear.  And there were consi-
derable tumours visible in the neck, which inclined several medical gentlemen,
who inspected the body, to be of opinion that they were occasioned by strangu-
lation."  Edinburgh Ann. Register, vol. 7, Chronicle, p. 30. 
10
PERSONS FOUND DEAD.
 if the suspension has been made after death, these
 marks will be wanting,  and although  there may be
 spots on the neck from the pressure of the cord, yet
 they will  be of a livid colour,  and  distinguishable
 from contusions  on the living body *  The appear-
 ances found on dissection are also an important guide.
   The form and situation of the  mark  made  by the
 cord should be  ascertained : if it is at  the bottom of
 the neck, it is probable that the individual  has been
 strangled,  for if suspended the cord would slip to the
 superior part of the neck.   It may also happen, that
 a person is murdered by strangulation  and afterwards
 suspended.   In this case, we should  expect to find
 two  distinct circles on the  neck,  each characterised
 by its peculiarities.f
   The presence or absence of dislocation or fracture
 of the vertebra is not to be greatly relied  upon  in
 settling this question,  as it may  have been produced
 by force  subsequently applied,  such as  pulling hard
 at the feet.
   Wounds, effused blood and marks  of violence are
 to be judged according to the rules laid  down,  when
 noticing medico-legal dissection.
   Devaux  mentions a  case that  illustrates this  ques-
 tion.  A female aged  50, at Mantes  (in 1683) was
found suspended from a beam in a  barn.   The face
 was  not discoloured, no froth issued from the mouth
 or nose, the tongue was natural, there  was no change
 of colour around the  shoulders, nor  was the  neck
 marked by the cord.   It was determined to examine
the body minutely, and a short investigation discover-
ed a small wound, directly  under  the right breast,
which on being pursued, was found to have penetrated
through the  heart,  and produced an effusion of blood
in the tborax.  It was evident that she had been thus
murdered.^

 * The skin of the neck after death, says Petit, will be folded np and wrin-
kled by the cord.  Fodere, vol. 3, p. 151.
 t Male. p. 233—4. Mahon, vol. 3, p. 44.
 j Devaux, quoted by Fodere, vol. 3, p. 153. 
PERSONS FOUND DEAD.
41
  II. The second question is, Whether the individual
has hung himself, or has been hung by othersP
  As  a preliminary remark, I would observe,  that
hanging is a difficult mode  of perpetrating  murder,
unless the strength of the parties be greatly dispro-
portionate, or the assailants be numerous and power-
ful, and accordingly, we find it is most commonly an act
of suicide.    There are,  however, cases  in  which  a
decision is extremely difficult, as the  marks left either
from homicide or suicide, may be precisely similar.
  We should first  ascertain whether suspension took
place before or after death—and  next, the immediate
cause of  death as before stated.   The instrument of
death, that is, the cord, should be compared  with the
furrow that it has made,  so  as  to ascertain  whether
the diameter of the neck be much diminished  by it.
All the circumstances which indicate strangulation.
are so far against the idea of suicide.*
  The probability of the occurrence of luxation  or
fracture of the  vertebra, is  also, as I  have already
hinted, lessened when suicide is the  cause.f
  Wounds and marks of violence on the body,  are
generally to be deemed proofs of homicide. But there
may be suicides who injure themselves previous to
suspension.   De Haen records  a case, of a person
who,  while hanging,  inflicted several wounds on  his
face.   These, however,  we  should  not consider as
the cause of death..  A still  more remarkable case is
mentioned by Ballard,  of a young ecclesiastic, who
cut his throat partially, and  then hung himself  in the

  * Fodere observes, that in suicide, that portion of the cord which sur-
rounds the neck, is relatively longer than in homicide, where the constric-
tion will be more violent.  The skin will also in this case be more drawn
up towards the chin.  (Vol.3 p. 159.)  Mahon remarks, that in assassina-
tion, the neck is sometimes so compressed, that the diameter of the circle
described by the cord, is not more than two or two and a half inches. He
saw a female who had been hung, in whom the integuments alone resisted
the cord—the vertebra?, muscles, and larynx were separated, and the dia-
meter of the circle was about two inches. Vol. 3, p. 49.  It is, however,
doubted, and I think justly, by Male, (p. 235,) whether this should be con*
sidered a conclusive proof of homicide.  Much of the tightness of the noose
must depend on its situation.
  t There may, however, be instances of these occurring, as when the
suicide throws himselffrom some height. Belloc, p. 173,174.
VOX. II.
6 
42
PERSONS  FOUND  DEAD.
vestments of his office,  and which  he had arranged
for that purpose.*
   Dr.  Male  has  also suggested, that wounds  may
possibly be accidental, as when a person, by swing-
ing himself with violence, breaks the rope, and wounds
himself by falling upon articles of furniture.!
   The situation of surrounding objects, the state of
the clothes, the appearance of  the body, all deserve
attention.  4t If the person  be not elevated from the
ground or floor at all, while the cord  is not so tight
about the  neck as to strangle in  this posture, and no
other cause  of death can  be discovered, there  can
hardly be a  possibility of  doubt as to self-murder.
A few  years ago, a man aged 75, destroyed himself at
Castle Cary, by fixing a cord round  his neck while
sitting  on  the bed-side—leaning forward till his  pur-
pose was accomplished.  His wife, who had for years
been bed-ridden, and therefore not likely to have been
fast asleep, was in the  room during the  transaction,
and knew noil;ing of what was going 011."$
   The state of mind of the deceased, his previous his
tory, and situation in life,  all deserve attention,  aud
may aid us in forming an opinion, whether a predis-
position to insanity  has been present.
   The following cases deserve the attention  of all
medical men.
   A young  man eighteen years of age,  and named
Bartholomew Pourpre,  was found dead and hanging
to a tree, at seven o'clock in the evening of the 12th of
August, 1736.  A surgeon, who examined the body,
certified that he had been strangled.  His father had
married  a second  wife, who was  on very ill terms
with the young man, and had produced frequent quar-
rels  and threats of murder between them.  Suspicion
was, therefore, excited, but  its probability  was  de-
stroyed by the idea, that a father would not murder
his son, and  also from the circumstance that he  was
fifty-two years old, and his  son eighteen, and in full
* Ballard, p. 409.
i Smith, p. 278.
t Male, p. 234. 
               PERSONS FOUND DEAD.           43

 health and vigour.  On this reasoning, the father was
 acquitted, and the son was deemed to have hung him-
 self.
   An order having, however, been made to prepare a
 Statement of  the suicide, and the cause being carried
 up to the parliament of Aix, the attorney-general dis-
 covered such facts in the statement of the surgeon, as
 led him to believe that Pourpre had not destroyed
 himself.   It was mentioned not only by him, but  by
 other witnesses, that the mark of the cord, instead of
 being at the upper part of the neck,  was at its lower
 part,  just  above  the shoulders ;  and secondly, that
 the teeth were knocked in, and bloody.   The parlia-
 ment, from these  facts,  decided  that  the father had
 strangled him,  and had put his foot on the mouth of
 his son, either to prevent his cries, or to hurry on the
 strangulation.  The suspension,  they declared, was
 subsequent to  his death.   Whether the father was
 guilty or not, we must at least say with Fodere, that
 two facts  are well established in this case : 1. That
 the son had been strangled  before being hung ; and
 2. That the strangling had been done, not by himself,
 but by others. *
   Marc Jlntoine Calas was the son of John Calas,  a
 merchant of Toulouse, aged seventy  years, of great
 probity,  and a protestant.  This son  was twenty-
 eight years of age, of a robust habit, but melancholy
 turn of mind.   He was a student of law, and becom-
 ing irritated at the difficulties he experienced, (in con-
 sequence of not being a catholic,) concerning his li-
 cense, he resolved to hang himself. This he executed
by fastening the cord to a billet  of wood placed on
 the folding doors which led from  his father's shop to
 his store-room.   Two hours after, he was found life-
 less.  The parents unfortunately removed the cord
 from the body, and never exhibited it to shew in what
 manner his death was  accomplished.  No examina-
tion was made—the people, stimulated  by religious
* Fodere, vol. 3, p. 152, cited from Louis. 
44            PERSONS  FOUND DEAD.
prejudice, carried the body to the town-house, where
it was the next day examined by two medical men,
who, without viewing the cord,  or  the place where
the  death had  been consummated,  declared that  he
had  been strangled.   On the strength of this, the fa-
ther was condemned by  the parliament of Toulouse,
in 1761, to  be broken on the wheel.  He  expired
with protestations to heaven of his innocence.
  Reflection, however, returned  when it was too late.
It was recollected  that the son had  been of a melan-
choly turn of mind—that no noise had been heard  in
the house while the deed was doing—that his clothes
were not in the least ruffled—that a single mark only
was  found  from the cord, and which indicated  sus-
pension by suicide—and in addition to these, that the
dress proper for the dead, was  found laying on  the
counter.  Voltaire espoused the  cause of the injured
family, and attracted the eyes of all Europe to this
judicial murder.   The cause was  carried up to the
council of state, who on the 9th of May, 1765,  re-
versed the decree of the  parliament,  and vindicated
the memory of John Calas.*

         4.  Of persons found  strangled.
  I  have already in  the  previous  section, indicated
the  difference between  this  species  of murder and
banging, and indeed were it not for the sake of regu-
larity, they might be considered together.
  In strangulation, strictly considered, the distinction
consists in the murdered not being suspended. It is a
more common, and probably a more  violent mode of
murder than hanging, and we should therefore expect
that  the mark of the cord, ligature,  or whatever else
may be used, would be more distinct.
  The appearances on dissection will not differ ma-
terially from those stated in the previous section,  but
there are some  characteristic external  appearances.

  * Fodere, vol. 3, p. 167, from the  Causes Celebrcs. See also Grimm's
Historical and Literary Mem,&c. (1753 to 1769,) vol. 2, p. 41, 117 and 166. 
              PERSONS FOUND DEAD.           45

The mark of the ligature will  generally form a hori-
zontal discoloured circle round the neck, and towards
its lower part, and we are to judge by rules already
given,  whether it was inflicted before or after death.
The dislocation of the vertebrae is not to be expected,
though there may be fractures of their processes, and
in all probability, injury, to the  cartilages  of the la-
rynx.*
  The same questions are to be solved  here as in the
former section, was the deceased really strangled,  or
was the rope fastened round his neck  after  he was
dead.  This, I have endeavoured to answer in a for-
mer page, by directing attention to the state of the
marks on the neck.   There are however instances on
record,  where injuries have been inflicted on bodies
strangled,  to avert  suspicion  of the true manner in
which they were killed.
   Sir Edmundbury  Godfrey,  an eminent  magistrate
in Middlesex, (England,) was murdered on the 12th
of  October, 1677.   The  manner  of his  death,  as
proved by accomplices, on the trial of  Green, Berry
and Hill for his  murder, was thus : having  enticed
him, under a false pretence, to a remote situation about
Somerset House,  a man came  behind him,  twisted a
handkerchief, and threw it about his neck, when four
of them  threw him down  and strangled him.  ]?fot
entirely accomplishing their purpose in this way, the
person who fixed the handkerchief, twisted his neck
round,  using violence to the body with  his knee.
This was  on  Saturday night.  The body was con-
cealed till the Wednesday night  following, when
about  12 o'clock, it was  carried  away in a sedan
chair, and thrown into a ditch.  They then passed
his own sword through him, and laid his gloves and
some other things  on the  bank, so as to  excite the
belief that he had committed suicide.  In this situa-
tion the body was found,  and  on examination, it was
observed, that an attempt  had been made to run him
.* Smith, p. 224. 
46           PERSONS FOUND DEAD.

through, but it  Avas prevented  by striking on a rib.
There was no  blood at this wound.   The  sword
however passed quite  through his body,  projecting
two hands'  breadth  beyond his back,  and Skil-
lard and Cambridge,  the  surgeons,  deposed that it
went through the  heart.   When the  sword was
drawn out,  no blood followed,  nor was  there  any
about the place.  The  neck was  dislocated,  and so
flexible that it could be turned from  one shoulder to
the other.  His  face during life had been always re-
markably pale,  but ifc was now much suffused.  The
eyes were blood  shot, and there was a mark round the
neck, an inch broad.*
  Philip Standsfield was tried and found guilty,  in
1688, of the murder of his father, Sir James Stands-
field, of New  Milns,  in Scotland.  This atrocious
parricide appears to have been a man of vicious and
debauched  habits, and on extremely ill terms with his
parent.   He cursed  him, and repeatedly swore that
he would take his life.   The father was murdered by
strangulation in his bed-chamber,  at the dead  of
night,  arid  the body was afterwards taken, and car-
ried to some water  hard by.   In the morning it was
discovered  lying on  the top of  the  water,  which
was only five feet deep, and not a running stream,
and although   Philip  was  desired  to  delay  the
funeral, yet he  caused it  to be immediately  inter-
red.  Suspicions were, however, excited, concerning
the cause of death, and two surgeons were sent for
from Edinburgh, by order of Sir John Dalrymple,
the  king's  advocate,  to examine  the body.  They,
(James Murehead  and James Craufurd,) had it dug
up, and on inspection,  found the following  appearan-
ces, which I shall give in their own words.  " Hav-
ing, with all possible exactness,  viewed the corpse,
we observed the face a little swelled, and inclining to

  * Hargrove's  State Trials, vol. 2, p. 759 to 791.  Burnet, vol.  2, p. 42,
Smith, p. 225.  Several persons were afterwards tried for stating that Sir
E. Godfrey had murdered himself, but all the testimony adduced (see that
of Lazinby and Hobbs,) only proved the fact of strangulation still more
strongly.  See Haragrave's State Trials, vol. 3, p. 505 to 518. 
PERSONS  FOUND  DEAD.
4';
a dark reddish colour, some fullness of some capilla-
rie veins in the pallat of the mouth towards the uvula,
as also a large and conspicuous swelling,  about three
inches broad,  of a dark red or blue colour, from one
side of the larynx round backwards to the other side
thereof; we observed the jugular veins on both sides
the neck very large and distended, and full of blood ;
there was a large swelling under and betwixt the chin
and cartilago scutiformis; there was also a little
scratch below the left mandibula,  which had rankled
the cuticula, and made some little impression on the cu-
tis.   Having made incisions from the chin  down about
the larynx,  and cross upon the swelling of the neck,
we found a greater laxness and distance, (as we think)
than ordinary, betwixt the cartilago scutiformis and os
hyoides ; we found the tumour on the neck containing
bruises, like dark or blackish blood ; the jugular,
when cut, bled considerably, especially that on the
left side.
  " Having opened his breast, we found the lungs dis-
tended to the filling up of their capacities, but free of
water ; his stomach, liver, &c. were all in good con-
dition ; we  found  no water  within  the corpse ; the
corpse had no smell  at all;  the breast, belly, privy
parts, &c. were all well coloured ; there was no swel-
ling in  his belly, nor any thing but ordinary to be
seen on his head."
  This report was submitted to the deaconry of sur-
geons at Edinburgh, and they state, " that though it
is not usual to declare more than matter of fact," yet
they, in obedience to his lordship's  commands and
enquiry, whether these symptoms  import drowning
or strangling, reply,  that they indicate external vio-
lence, and such  as could not be caused by drowning
simply.  On that part of the report, which details the
appearances  found on opening  the breast and stom
ach,  they observe, that a body, when drowned,  is gen-
erally found  to have much  water in it.  As this was
not present in the deceased, as the lungs were  disten-
ded,  but free from water,  and  as the other  circum- 
48
PERSONS  FOUND  DEAD.
 stances mentioned in the report, indicated violence,
 they decided that there were just grounds to  think
 that he was not drowned.
   The college of physicians were also consulted, and
 answered that  there was sufficient reason to believe
 that Sir James had been strangled, and not drowned.
   Spurway, a person present at the dissection, proved
 that when Surgeon Murehead was  moving the cap
 from the head, the eyes opened, and the eyelids were
 much swoln,  and very red.
   The defence set up was, that Sir James had  drown-
 ed himself, and iu reply to the argument that  no wa-
 ter was found in the body, it was urged, that  when a
 man commits suicide in  this way,  he will  keep his
 breath, and thus  prevent the  ingress of the  water.
 Various conjectures were also advanced in the plead-
 ings, to account for the swelling of the neck, but did
 not prove satisfactory, and the parricide was with
 great justice condemned  and executed.*
   I  shall adduce another  case, to show the  facility
 with which a person may be murdered in this manner.
Dr. Clench, a physician  in London, was called out of
 bed by two persons on the night of the 4th of January,
 1692, who desired him to  visit a friend who was not
 well.  He entered a hackney coach  with them,  and
 drove about several streets in the city  for an hour and
 a quarter.  The two individuals then left the coach,
 and sent  the driver on an errand.  When the  coach-
 man returned, he found Dr. Clench sitting on the bot-
 tom of the coach, against the front seat, with his head
 against the cushion.  Thinking him in  liquor, he
 shook him, but  obtained no answer.  He then called
 the watch, and they found him strangled by a hand-
 kerchief in which a coal had been placed, and then
 the coal  applied  directly  over the windpipe.  The
 coachman had heard no  noise while driving the car-
 riage.!
   It must however not be forgotten that strangulation

  * Hargrove's State Trials., vol. 4, p. 283 to 303.    f ibid. vol. 4, p. 495. 
PERSONS FOUND DEAD.
49
is sometimes effected by other means,  than a cord,
ligature or handkerchief.   It may be performed by
the hand,  and in  this instance,  instead of a circle
round the  neck, the discoloration will be partial, the
bruises  will be of an indistinct form, or the positive
marks of fingers may be traced.*
   In 1763, a man  named Beddingfield, was murdered
in England, and the  charge was laid against his wife
and man servant.  The medical testimony  was very
unsatisfactory, as  no dissection had taken place, but
it was proved, there were marks about the neck re-
sembling those of  fingers.   A  contradictory account
was however given of the number ; one  surgeon said
a thumb and three fingers, the  other,  a thumb and
four fingers, while another evidence who also saw
the marks  at the inquest, spoke of two only, " which
looked as if the blood was set in the skin."
   The defence was,  that the deceased had fallen out
of bed,  and was found lying on the floor on his face,
with one hand round his neck.
   1 am far from thinking that  this could  have been
mistaken,  if a proper examination had been made.
The discrepancies in the testimony  and the omission
of dissection, might however have led to subsequent
doubts, had not one of the condemned persons confes-
sed that  he had strangled Beddingfield, by seizing his
throat with his left hand, while asleep, and that though
the deceased struggled violently and made some noise,
yet he soon accomplished his purpose, f
   Sir John Dinely Goodere, in 1741, was forced by
violence on board  the Ruby ship of war, commanded
by his brother, Capt. Goodere,  and lying in the port
of Bristol.   In the night he was strangled by two
assassins in the employ of his brother.   One of them
confessed, that the other fell on Sir John, as he lay in
bed, took hold of his throat with his hand (his  stock

  * These marks are occasionally very slight. A young officer was stran-
gled in his bed by a soldier.  The surgeon of the regiment could find only
one small spot, which the murderer afterwards confessed he had produced
by violent pressure with his thumb. Metzger, p. 379.
  f Smith, p. 227.
    VOL. II.              7 
50
PERSONS FOUND DEAD*.
being on) and so strangled him with his slock.   They
then put a rope with a noose in it, round his neck and
drew it tight, to insure the certainty of the murder.
In accordance, with this, Mr. Dudgeon, the surgeon's
mate, of the Ruby swore, that there were some marks
on his neck, which looked  like the scratching of nails,
while blood came out of his nose  and mouth.*
  (i On opening the bodies of those who are murder-
ed by manual strangulation, the usual appearances of
this  kind of death may not seem  so conclusive as in
other cases, from the person making continued resist-
ance, and the functions of  respiration and circulation
going on in some measure for a  longer period  than
there where interrupted at  once, as in the instance of
drowning or the effectual application of a cord"f
  In the case of a woman who had been strangled per
tnanum by two men, Littre found the  tympanum  of
the left ear lacerated, and from it, flowed about an
ounce of blood ; the vessels of the brain were unusu-
ally turgid, red blood was extravasated in the ventri-
cles  and also on the base of the cranium ; the lungs
were greatly distended,  and their  membrane very vas-
cular.  Not more  than an ounce of blood however
was  contained in the right  ventricle of the  heart and
it was fluid and frothy, like that of the lungs. J
  As to the question, whether strangulation is the ef-
fect of suicide or homicide, it may be remarked that it
is extremely difficult for a  person to destroy himself
in this way, since his  hands lose their strength the
moment compression begins.   All marks of violence
are  of  course proofs of homicide,  and the circular
marks itself is prima facie evidence, unless contradic-
ted by positive  testimony.
   Whether it  is possible  that a man has  strangled
himself, must depend greatly on the appearances, and
in particular the position of the body, and the history
of his state of mind.  The following cases were com-
municated by Dr. Desgranges, of Lyons,  to Fodere,

  * Hargrove's State Trials, vol. 6, p. 816 and 831.
  + Smith, p. 229.             * Fodere, vol. 3, p. 139.  Smith, p. 229 
PERSONS  FOUND DEAD.
51
m 1811.  A man was found in a hay-loft, strangled
by a  handkerchief, which had been tightened by a
stick.  The judicial tribunal consulted the Society of
Medicine,  whether this  was a case of possible sui-
cide.   The society replied, that it was possible ; and
Dr. Desgranges observes, that in a  person  who  is
firmly determined to destroy himself, it might be ac-
complished, by producing several rapid revolutions of
the stick, and in this way,  tightening the handker-
chief effectually.
   In another case,  an old man in the hospital used
the handle of a pot, as the instrument for tightening
the ligature.  He was found laying on the bed, with
his face turned to the mattrass, the chin was cut by
the pieces of the pot, the head was dark coloured, the
face swelled, the lips thickened, and a sanguineous
saliva issued from the mouth.*
   I will only observe on  these,  that there is a bare
possibility of their being instances of suicide, and that
all similar instances require strong proofs  to obtain
our assent to this belief.

            5. Of persons found drowned.
   The present is an intricate, as well as interesting
subject.  I approach it with diffidence, and can only
promise to give a faithful  abstract of the current state
of knowledge concerning  it.
   The leading question which every medico-legal
case  suggests  is, Whether there are any marks that
distinguish death by submersion, from death previous
to submersion P  or in other words, whether a person
was thrown when alive, or after death, into the water ?
   I shall arrange my remarks on this in the following
order: first, state the ancient doctrines ; and second-
ly, those most  commonly received at the present day.
It will then be proper to comment  on the different
 marks,  and show to what qualifications and excep-
tions they are liable.  In doing this, the various the*
»F«<l«rc, V©1, 3, p. 173. 
52
PERSONS FOUND  DEAD.
ories as to the cause of death from drowning, will re-
quire notice, and the whole subject  may be then ap-
plied bv detailing some medico-legal cases.
  I. Ambrose Pare has  stated in a few words,  the
ancient opinions on this subject.  He observes, that a
surgeon will find  the following appearances on  the
body of a person who has been thrown into the water,
while living.   The stomach and intestinal canal  are
filled with water—a glairy mucus issues from the nose,
and sometimes there  is a  bleeding from it—there  is a
frothy appearance about  the mouth, and the  extremi-
ties cf the fingers will be found excoriated,  as if,  in
dying, they had grasped the sand, or some other hard
substauce.   On the contrary, those who have been
thrown when dead into  the water, will have no  tu-
mour in the stomach or  abdomen, since all  the pas-
sages to them were closed by the absence of inspira-
tion ; the  nose and  mouth will present none of  the
appearances mentioned above, nor will there be  any
excoriation of the fingers.*
  These rules were considered orthodox until the
commencement of the eighteenth  century, and  De-
veaux reports several cases which were decided ac-
cording to them.
  II. I believe I shall be correct in stating,  that the
following marks, laid down  by Dr. Marc, are recog-
nized as correct by the great body of modern physio-
logists, with, however, certain qualifications,  to be
hereafter mentioned.
  Signs that a person has been drowned while living.
As  to the external appearance of the body.
  i.  The eyes are half  open—the  pupils much  di-
lated—the skin is remarkable for its paleness, origin-
ating in a spasm of the cutaneous vessels—the tongue
approaches to the under edges of the lips, and these.
as well as the nostrils, are covered with a frothy  mu-
cus.  Occasionally when the paleness is wanting, the
head will  be bloated, the  face red, and all the symp-
* Quoted by Fodere, vol. 3, p. 80 
PERSONS
FOUND DEAD.
53
toms which denote a determination of blood to the
brain, will be present.
  2. The excoriation at the ends of the fingers—dirt
or sand found under the nails.
  As to the appearances on dissection.
  3. A greater or less fulness of the blood-vessels of
the brain.
  4. The right side of the heart and its vessels filled
with blood, and the left empty—the lungs dilated and
filled with blood.
  5. A watery froth,  which is sometimes bloody,
found in the trachea and bronchi*.
  6. The diaphragm depressed into the abdomen.
  7. The  blood in a permanently  liquid state, and
oozes from the body on the least touch of the scalpel.
  8. Water is occasionally found in the stomach.
  On the other hand, the signs  that denote death pre-
vious to submersion, are,
  1. The presence of lesions which could not be in-
flicted under water, such as the  marks of ecchymosis,
or of a cord around the neck—wounds from fire-arms,
or the traces of poisons.
  2. The absence of the external characters mention-
ed above.
  3. The absence of water or  foreign substances in
the trachea and stomach.
  4. The lungs being in a state of  collapse, and not
gorged with blood—the abdomen flat,  and the dia-
phragm in a state of natural tension..
  5. The blood in a coagulable state.*
  III. In proceeding to review the signs now enu-
merated, we are immediately struck with the variety
that is observed in the external appearance of the
drowned.  The countenances of many are pale, while
there occur cases in which the face  is livid,  and the
head swelled.  To explain this difference, Dr. Des-
granges has suggested, that there are distinct modes
of death operating  in each.  One of them he denomi-
" Marc. p. 172 te 182. 
54
PERSONS FOUND DEAD.
 nates nervous or syncopal asphyxia, and it is well il-
 lustrated by a case related by Plater.   A female con-
 victed of infanticide, was condemned to be drowned.
 She  fainted on being immersed into the water, and
 remained there  for a quarter of an  hour.   On being
 drawn  out,  she recovered her senses.*   This class
 will be characterized by paleness,  in  consequence of
 a spasm of the cutaneous vessels.   Fear, or the cold-
 ness of the water,  or a blow on the head  in falling,
 suspends as it were the vital functions,  and  throws
 the nervous system into a state of inaction.
   The second is denominated asphyxia by suffocation.
 The drowning person wishes to respire, and in con-
 sequence, a small quantity  of  water enters the bron-
 chiae, mixes with the air in them, and forms the frothy
 mucus  so commonly perceived.  The lungs  are in
 this case totally unable to perform their functions.!
   Dr. Marc has  added a third to these,  which he
 styles asphyxia from cerebral  congestion, and refers
 to it such cases as are marked by an apoplectic habit,
 or where  persons fall  into the water when in  a state
 of intoxication, or with a full stomach.
  In  many instances, the two last are, in his opinion,
 united,  and suffocation and  apoplexy, according to
 circumstances,  act reciprocally either as the essential
 or aggravating cause of  death.!  It is  in  these, of
 course, that we are to look for lividness and swelling
 of the countenance.
  If then  we take the above division into considera-
 tion, and apply it in medico-legal cases, we have next
to enquire whether  the external appearances already
 enumerated,  are certain  diagnostics  of submersion
 while living.  To a limited extent they undoubtedly
 are, but they are also liable to exceptions. Fother°-iR
 has suggested as a  characteristic sign in these cases,
that the eyes are found half open, and the pupils very

  * Marc, p  165. This punishment was in compliance with the ancient
provisos of the Caroline code. The criminal was put into a sack" anfl
spnk into the water.                       *        l,&' *nu
  f Fodere, vol. 2, p. 29*          } Marc, p. 166, 169. 
persons  Found  dead;            55
much dilated ; but this enlargement of the pupils may
have originated from the use of narcotics,  and thus
death may have preceded drowning.  The same re-
mark applies to the appearance of the eyes.   Spas-
modic diseases, amongst others,  will leave them in
that state.  Again,  the  paleness may have been the
consequence of haemorrhage  or inanition.  Froth at
the mouth, and projection of  the  tougue, accompany
convulsions and epilepsy ; while redness of  the vi-
sage, and swelling of the head, are the most common
signs of death from  apoplexy. *
   The excoriation at the ends of the fingers,  and the
presence of dirt or sand under the nails, were  former-
ly much depended upon,  and  Ambrose Pare  and
Bohn in  particular, rely greatly on it,  since it indi-
cates, according to them, the last efforts of the living
individual to save himself from death.   Like the last,
however, it is rather to  be deemed a  supplementary
than a conclusive  proof.  A man may fall during a
state of intoxication into the water, and never make
an effort to save himself, or he may be  in a state of
syncope  when  drowned.  No mark of exertion will
then be foundf—while,  on the other hand, a dead bo-
dy may, from being thrown  from a high place, con-
tract this appearance in  rolling over.  The depth of
water in these instances, should be noticed, since
there may be an extinction of life before coming at
the bottom.
   While then the external signs are to be strictly no-
ticed, but not greatly relied on,  we come next to the
more conclusive marks,  drawn from the appearances
on dissection.
   A greater or less  fullness of the blood vessels of the
head, together with the fullness of the right side of the
heart, and its vessels, has been much relied upon as a
sign by  several anatomists.   Hopffenstock, a physi-
cian of Prague,  in his dissection of  the drowned, ob-
served constantly a  great accumulation of blood in the
• Marc, p. 173.
t Mahon, vol; 3, p. 3. 
56
PERSONS FOUND DEAD.
 cerebral vessels ; the jugular veins ;  the right auricle
 and ventricle, and in the pulmonary artery—while, on
 the contrary,  the left side of the heart was  complete-
 ly empty.   This led him to suppose, that the stagna-
 tion of blood in these vessels was the cause of death,
 and that this again was occasioned by the cessation of
 respiration.*   Mahon  states, that he  observed the
 same appearances in his dissections  ;f  and Kite and
 Walter have confirmed it by their investigations.
   But it may be questioned whether the brain is  al-
 ways thus  gorged  with  blood.   Certainly, in those
 who die from syncopal asphyxia, this  mark will be far
 from being a striking  one ; while,  on the  contrary,
 should apoplexy have taken place previous to  drown-
 ing, we might expect its presence.!
   The next mark is, the presence of a small quantity of
 water, very frothy,  and sometimes coloured with blood
 in the trachea and bronchise.   This has been a subject
 of great speculation among physiologists, and former-
 ly the water thus found in the lungs and stomach  was
 supposed to be the  cause of  death.   Becker,  a Ger-
 man physician, was the first to controvert this opin-
 ion.   He published a work at the commencement of
 the eighteenth century, in which he denied that water
 was always present in  these organs, and illustrated
 his position by several  dissections of the human bo-
 dy, as well as by experiments  on animals. ||  Some
 distinguished  men,  as Littre, Senac  and  Petit,  em-
 braced his views, although towards the end of the  last
 century, many physiologists, as Haller, De Haen  and
 Louis, inclined again to the ancient idea.§

  * Fodere, vol. 3, p. 90.         t Mahon, vol. 3, p. 30
  t Goodwyn states as the result of his investigations, that the external sur-
face of the brain is of a darker colour than usual, but the  vessels are not
turgid with blood, nor are there  any marks of extravasation  about them.
The right side of the heart is, however, according to him, filled with black
blood, while the left ventricle is only about half filled  with blood of the
same colour.  Enquiry, p. 4 and 5.
  || This work is published in the  Novella; of Valentini. " J. C.  Beckeri Pa-
radoxum-Medico-Legale, de submersorum morte, sine pota aqua,  1704," p.
299. See  also  a notice of this  work in the Phil. Trans, vol. 24, p. 2512.
Bohn ofLeipsic published an essay in 1711, in which he advanced the  same
opinion.  See Memoirs of Literature, vol. 4, p. 165.
  § De Haen's Ratio Mcdendi Continuata, p. 130 fcc.  Louis' Memoire sur
 Les Noyes. 
PERSONS FOUND  DEAD.
57
  There are, however, abundant facts on record to
prove, that this frothy mucus is not invariably found.
 Wepfer and Valdsmidt did not observe it in an ani-
 mal which they drowned.   Evers made .a number of
 experiments at  Gottingen, in  1753, on cats, and al-
 ways found it,  but could discover none in the bodies
of two persons who were drowned when intoxicated.*
 Belloc  remarks  that  he  has  not found it  in cases
 where persons were undoubtedly drowned while liv-
 ing.!  And he  explains  this variety,  by suggesting
 J hat the last act of the person who falls into the wa-
 ter, may be either inspiration or expiration.  If  the
 former, a small quantity of water will reach the lungs,
 which, mixing  with the air contained  there, will, by
 the succeeding process of expiration, form the froth in
 question.  On the contrary, if  the  last movement be
 expiration, he  does not  believe that  the water cau
 reach the trachea, and consequently that no froth will
 be formed,
  Fodere suggests, with reference to a previous divis-
 ion, that this mark will not appear in the syncopal as-
 phyxia, or asphyxia from cerebral congestion,  while
 in asphyxia from suffocation,  it will be a constant at-
 tendant.  The  inhabitants  of Geneva, according to
 Dr. Fine,  have a very bad  habit of bathing immedi-
 ately after a full meal,  and in these, according to the
 above classification,  should drowning occur, it might
 not probably be found.
  The most received opinion on this point is then the
 following :  the presence of this frothy  mucus is  not a
 certain event, nor is  it  by any means an essential
 cause  of death.!  As long  as  there  is  sufficient

  ' Fodere, vol. 3, p. 93, 94.           t Belloc, p. 178.
  I Dr. Goodwyn made an opening into the trachea of a cat, and through
 this introduced two ounces of water into the lungs.   The animal had im-
 mediately a difficulty of breathing, and a feeble pulse.  But these symptoms
 soon abated, and it lived several hours afterwards without much apparent
 inconvenience. After this, he strangled it, and found two ounces and  a
 half of water in the lungs.  Enquiry, p. 17. Prof. Mayer has lately con-
 firmed this opinion by numerous experiments. Among other results, he
 mentions, that " animals support a considerable quantity of liquid injected
 into the lungs, without experiencing mortal symptoms from them. Rah*1.
VOL. IJ.
8 
58
PERSONS  FOUND DEAD.
 strength left, the epiglottis will  resist the passage of
 the water, except the slightest quantity, and it is pro-
 bable that this small quantity is taken  in during the
 last inspiration,  mixes  with  the pulmonary mucus,
 and produces the frothy appearance.
   But it may be asked whether this mark does not ac-
 company other diseases, and causes of death?  There
 is no doubt but that it has thus been occasionally ob-
 served.   De Haen has seen it in the body of a person
 who was hung, and Marc confirms it by a case which
 he himself examined.
   In those who die from epilepsy, apoplexy, or violent
 catarrhal affections, it is witnessed, and also in death
 from irrespirable airs.
   These facts lessen our dependence on this sign to a
 considerable degree, and it will be wholly weakened,
 if the body has lain for any length of time in the  water.
 Putrefaction soon forms a  frothy fluid, strongly re-
 sembling the appearance in question.*
   As to another difficulty on this point, viz. whether
 water can enter the lungs after  death, there does not
 seem to  exist much  doubt.   The general opinion is,
 that the parts will be in such close contact,  that none
 can penetrate.   Fodere however inclines to the oppo-
 site belief, and suggests,  that when the body has re-
 mained for some  time in the water, and putrefaction
 commences, it will enter upon hydrostatical princi-
 ples.  And again,  although the  muscles about  the

 bits can support a dose of four ounces and a half in 24 hours.  But these in-
jections should be performed by an opening made into the trachea,  for  if
 we inject these fluids by the larynx, they excite the most severe symptom,
 of suttocation, and the animal soon sinks under it.  The suspension of res-
 piration during this irritation of the muscles of the larynx by the injection
 is the only cause of death." Again.  " The symptoms of suffocation which
 arise trom injections, are not serious when we inject pure  water  but thev
 become so when we take thick fluids, for example, all which obstruct the
 serial passages, or some chemical solutions, which, destroying the parenchy-
 ma of the longs, prevent the oxydation of the blood, and produce  extrava-
 sations ot blood and inflammation in the lobes of the lungs  The fluids and
 solutions injected into the lungs, are absorbed more oriels quickly accord
 mg to their nature and degree of concentration. The absorption is in gen-
 rHinVMy|rea^ «    T m y?ung and newry »*n> animals than in adult* '
 Edin. Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 17, p. 469
  * Mahon, vol. 3, p. 5, &,c. 
PERSONS FOUND DEAD.
59
larynx  and pharynx  are  ordinarily, in such cases,
in a convulsed and constricted state, yet circumstan-
ces may occur, to leave them in a relaxed one.*  But
he refutes  his own opinion by a  subsequent remark.
Water, when introduced after death, can never mix
with the air so as to form the peculiar froth in  ques-
tion.!
  The  deduction  then from this disquisition is, that
the presence of the frothy mucus, is strong presump-
tive evidence that the deceased was drowned  while
living,  provided we  are satisfied that death has not
happened from irrespirable air, epilepsy, apoplexy,
&c.  The examination must however be made  short-
ly after death and before putrefaction has commenced.
The proof will be greatly strengthened,  if we discov-
er iu the bronchise or lungs, foreign bodies similar to
those contaiued in the water, such as  mud, weeds,
&c.  Lastly, the glottis should be erect.  These are
the qualifications that are added by Dr.  Marc,  to this
test.!   It must however not  escape our recollection,
that the absence of this frothy mucus is  not  a conclu-
sive proof  that the individual was dead before sub-
mersion.
   The  depression of the diaphragm into the abdomen
is considered by Hebenstreit as an essential character.
It  is  wanting, according  to  him, in those who are
drowned after  death.   Probably the reason of this is,
that the last act of breathing is inspiration.   The ex-
amination with respect to it should  always be made
early,  and the proof  should  not be deemed of much
value,  if inflation of the lungs has been used  in en-
 deavouring to restore life, ff
   The liquidity of the blood was formerly greatly in-
 sisted upon, as  a most important proof of death by
 drowning.  And this  is observed, even  in the vessels
 which  enter the bones. If the pericranium be sepa-

  * Fodere, vol. 3, p. 98,100.
  t Fodere, vol. 3, p. 111. Belloc, p. 180, makes a similar observation.
  \ Marc, p. 176.
  || Marc, p. 177. Fodere, vol. 3, p. 103.  The former intimates a  suspicioft
 that this sign may also occur in death from noxious inhalations. 
60             PERSONS FOUND DEAD.
 rated and the blood be taken up with a sponge, it will
 immediately appear in  dots along the surface of the
 bone.*   But, (as we have already stated,)  this phce-
 nomenon occurs in persons  found dead from  noxious
 inhalations, and it is  a consequence of  poisoning by
 opium.   Its diagnostic  character is thus affected,
 and  Mahon indeed denies its invariable  appearance,
 and  observes that in some  cases,  he has  found the
 blood coagulated.   It is evidently not a sign deserv-
 ing  of much consideration.!
   As to  the presence of water in the  stomach,  we
 may remark, that  it  is  an  accidental circumstance,
 and in no way connected, as was once supposed, with
 the cause of death.  Goodwyn and Kite have proved
 by their  experiments,  that a quantity may be swal-
 lowed during the struggles of a drowning person, but
 there are also cases on record,  where none was found.
   Scnac  illustrated this subject  nearly a hundred
 years ago, by detailing the method then used in Paris
 for torturing criminals, and under which, the subject
 occasionally died.   The mouth being  forcibly kept
 open with a wedgej and the nostrils closed,  a great
 quantity of water was poured iuto the person's throat.
 Respiration  was thus prevented, while the irritation of
 the trachea,  in resisting the access of fluid,  caused
 faintings, convulsions, violent agitation of the respira-
 tory organs, rupture of the pulmonary vessels, spitting
 of  blood and death,  but very little water  entered
 either into the lungs or the stomach of these unfortu-
 nate persons.  On dissection however, the usual le-
 sions observed in death from submersion were appar
 ent.!

  * Marc, p.  179.
  t Marc proposes to identify this appearance by the following marks :__In
 death from irrespirable gas, it will be accompanied with a "flegmasie pui-
monaireplus oumoins legere, qui quelquefois s'elendjvsqu' au bas ventre;"
 and after poisoning, there is an inflammation more or less intense in the sto-
mach and alimentary canal. Both are characterized by a. very rapid decom-
position. In  death from drowning, the above appearances will be wanting,
and putrefaction does not come on so rapidly.  Marc, p. 180.
  X Smith, p. 210.  It was formerly thought, that if no water  was found in
 the stomach or bronchia?, death could not have been occasioned by drown
 ing. See the subsequent notice of the trial of Spencer Cowpcr 
              PERSONS FOUND DEAD.            61

  While then it is possible that water may occasion
ally be found in the stomachs of those who have been
drowned,  it becomes  a question of  some  interest,
whether it can enter after death.  Experiments so far
as they have yet proceeded, are decidedly opposed to
this.  Goodwyn  and  Kite never found  any in  the
intestines of animals, and laterly Dr. Fine of Geneva,
has ascertained that  it  cannot be introduced into the
stomachs of the dead,  except  by passing an clastic
sound into the  oesophagus.  The sides of that canal,
when in a  state of inaction,  appear to be in  close
contact.*
  From the remarks which  have now been made, it
is obvious,  that  no  single proof taken separately is
perfectly satisfactory, and  that several must be united
in order to arrive at  a just conclusion.   The presence
of frothy mucus  in  the trachea, is undoubtedly the
sign of the greatest importance.
  it is  not necessary, after what has been already
said, to enter into a disquisition on the cause of death
by  drowning.  Opinions have varied greatly at  dif-
ferent times, but the received  doctrine  at present is,
that the extinction of life is caused by the stoppage of
respiration, and the  exclusion of atmospheric air from
the lungs.   Dr.  Cullen seems to have been among
the first who promulgated  this belief, and it has been
fully sanctioned by  subsequent experiments.!
  As to the marks of violence which may be  found
on the  bodies of the  drowned, they  are with  great
propriety divided by Fodere into three classes.
  1. Those  which  are totally independent of  any
connection  with  the circumstance of drowning.  Of
this nature, are the  usual signs of poisoning—a reg-
ularly formed ecchymosis  around the neck, indicative
of strangling, or wounds inflicted by fire arms, or cut-
ting instruments.  All these lesions have an  essen-

  ' Marc, p. 160. We should recollect in disputed cases, that the drowned
person may have drank some water  immediately previous to submersion,
Compare this with the fluid in which  he is found.
  ♦ See Letter to Lord Cathcart, by William Cullen, M D, Edin. 1784. p 6 
62            PERSONS  FOUND DEAD.
tially distinct character, which cannot be mistaken.
And hence the evident importance of examining all
bodies drawn from the water.   It was  by pursuing
such an investigation, that Deveaux discovered, under
the breast of a woman, a wound which had penetra-
ted to her heart.
  2. There are marks of violence which may have
resulted  either from accidents attending submersion,
or from previous  homicide, and these are unequal, ir-
regular wounds,  which do not penetrate far into the
body—contusions,  fractures  and  luxations.  In all
such instances, ascertain, if possible, the height from
which the person  has fallen, and the resistance he
may have encountered.*   The rapidity of the current
and the sharpness of the banks, may also have caus-
ed  wounds.   The obstacles  which  might have been
encountered  should  also be  noticed.  Dr.  Fine re-
marks, that  the rapidity of the Rhone,  and the nu-
merous mills erected on its banks, often produce most
shocking wounds on the  bodies of  those which are
driven against the stakes in the stream, or are drawn
into the machinery.!
  3. Lastly, there may be lesions received after death.
These are to be determined by the  rules laid down in
the section  on medico-legal  dissection.   The pro-
gress of  putrefaction deserves particular attention in
this case.|
  Before proceeding to illustrate this subject by a few
examples, it  is proper to mention one or two circum-
stances which may become objects of enquiry.   The
buoyancy of bodies in the water has given rise to con-
siderable discussion, and facts directly  opposite to
each other have been adduced.   There is no doubt,

  * " A few  years ago, a man who had leaped from each of the then three
bridges into  the Thames with impunity, undertook to repeat the exploit for
a wager. Having jumped from London bridge, he sunk, and was drowned.
When the body was found, it appeared  that he had gone down with the
arms in the horizontal, instead of the perpendicular posture, in consequence
of which, both of them were dislocated by the fall upon the. water." Smith
p. 214.
  t Marc, p. 183.
  {Fodere., vol. 3,p. 112to 115. • 
PERSONS  FOUND DEAD.
6£
however, that a person, whether dead or alive, when
first thrown into the water, will sink, unless buoyed
up by external aid ; but after the process of putrefac-
tion has occasioned the evolution of gaseous matter,
to render the body specifically lighter than the water,
it will rise to the surface ; and it is on this principle
that bodies committed' to  the deep have generally
weights affixed to them.
  It is, however, possible that the body may float at
first,  when its cavities have been previously filled
with air, and it is also an opinion, that deep water is
more favourable for this than shallow.   These, how-
ever, are circumstances of minor importance.*  There
is more consequence attached to the enquiry, how long
a body has lain in the water.   There is no mode by
which this can be accurately ascertained, except  that
of circumstantial calculation, and  the general facts
which we mentioned when noticing the subject of pu-
trefaction.   It is of great importance, however, to re-
collect,  that the animal body, by laying under water,
becomes converted  into a fatty substance termed adi-
pocire,  and which  in  appearance resembles sperma-
ceti.!   Water in  any  situation  will produce  this
change, although running water has been found to do
it more rapidly.  The question, howr long a time is
necessary to cause this change, has been made the
subject of legal enquiry.
  " At the Lent assizes held at Warwick in the year
1805, the following cause came before the court.  A
gentleman,  who was  insolvent, left his own  house
with the intention (as  was  presumed from  his  recent
conduct and  conversation)  of destroying himself.
Five weeks and four days  after that period, his body
was found floating down a  river.   The face was  dis-
figured  by putrefaction, and the hair separated from
the scalp by the slightest pull; but the other parts of
the body were firm and white,  without any putrefac-

  " Snith, p. 211-12.
  t See Dr. Gibbes' papers on Adipocire, in Phil. Transactions, vol. 84, r
169; vol. 85, p. 239. 
64
PERSONS  FOUND DEAD.
 tive appearance.   The  clothes were unaltered, but
 the linen was exceedingly rotten.  On examining the
 body, it was found that  several parts of it were con-
 verted into adipocire.
   A commission of bankruptcy having been taken out
 against the deceased a few days after he left home, it
 became an important  question' to the interest of his
 family, to ascertain whether or not he was living  at
 that period.  From the changes which the body had
 sustained, it was presumed that he had drowned him-
 self on the day he left borne, and to  corroborate this
 presumption, the evidence of Dr. Gibbes of Bath was
 requested, who, from his experiments on this subject,
 was better acquainted with it than any other person.
 He stated on the trial, that he had procured a small
 quantity of this  fatty substance, by immersing the
 muscular parts of animals in water for a month, and
 that it requires five or six weeks to  make  it in any
 large quantity.   Upon this evidence,  the jury were of
 opinion that  the deceased was not alive at the  time
 the commission was takeu out,  and the bankruptcv
 was accordingly superseded".*
   IV. Spencer Cowper, Esq. a member of  the Eng-
 lish  bar, and three other individuals, were tried at the
 Hertford Assizes,  in 1699,  for the murder of  Mrs.
 Sarah Stout.  Mr. Cowper came to Hertford on Mon-
 day,  the 13th of March, and shortly after visited
 Mrs. Stout,  who lived with her mother,  of  the same
 name.  He dined with them, and staid till four in the
 afternoon.  When he went away, he  promised to re-
 turn and lodge  there that night.  Accordingly,  at 9
o clock, he arrived, eat some supper, and then en-
gaged in conversation with Mrs. Stout, the  daughter
 lhey were alone in the room, when she called ? ser-
vant, and desired her to make a fire in his chamber,
and  to warm his bed.   The direction was  attended
to, and,n about  a  quarter of an  hour,  the servant-
heard the door shut,  as if some one was going out.

 ' Male, p. 239, 240. 
PERSONS  FOUND DEAD.           65
She remained above about a quarter of an hour long-
er, and then came down into the room.   Mr. Cowper
and Mrs. Stout were both gone, and the next morn-
ing she was found dead,  and floating on the water.
Its  depth was about  five feet, and  her body was
about five or six inches under it, although some of her
clothes were  on its surface.   Her eyes  were open,
and some little froth issued from her mouth and nos-
trils.  The body was  not tumifiedj  nor were any
bruises observed.   This is the testimony of the indi-
viduals who took the body out of the water.
  Mr. Dimsdale, a surgeon, was sent for by the mo-
ther, to view the body.  He found both sides of the
neck swelled and black, and the  skin between her
breasts up  towards the collar-bone, was also dark-
coloured. The left wrist was slightly bruised. There
was,  however, no circular mark round the neck.  It
is to be regretted that this investigation proceeded no
farther.
  On the 28th of  April, six weeks after the death of
Mrs.  Stout, her body was disinterred for the purpose
of inspection.   The medical witnesses  stated, that
they found  the head and neck so much putrefied, that
no opinion could be formed  respecting their appear-
ance.   The stomach and intestines were, however, in
a sound state,  as were also the lungs.  Neither of
them  was putrefied, and  on  making incisions into
them, no water could be discovered.
  Drs. Coats worth, Nailor, Burnet and Woodhouse,
with  Mr.  Babington a surgeon, deposed, that when
a person  is drowned, water will  be taken  into the
stomach and lungs, and  as none  was found in  this
case, they were of opinion that she came to her death
by  some other  means.
  The above is an abstract of the testimony on the
part of the crown.  On the part of Mr. Cowper, it
was first attempted to be shown, that the peculiar po-
sition of the body was owing  to its laying sideways
against  some  stakes in the river.  These prevented
its  complete immersion under water,  and a  witness
vol. ir.
9 
 €8            PERSONS FOUND DEAD.

 also mentioned,  that  in drawing the body out of thw
 water, one of the arms rubbed against the stakes, and
 thus probably produced the injury observed on it.
   Drs. Sloane, Garth. Morley, Wollaston and Crell,
 together with William Cowper, the celebrated anato-
 mist, appeared as witnesses  for the prisoner.  They
 were all  asked concerning  the circumstance of no
 water being found in the body* and  whether this dis-
 proved the probability of  drowning.  Dr.  Sloane
 considered it  altogether an accidental appearance in
 the  stomach, and  not necessarily  present  in  such
 cases.  The others advanced similar opinions.   As
 to the fluid in the lungs,  the answers were  not very
 definite, but it was insinuated by some, that  the  six
 weeks' burial might  have dissipated  whatever was
 taken in.*
   During the trial, it was a subject  of keen enquiry.,
 whether dead bodies float  or sink when thrown into
 the  water.   Seamen  were summoned to  depose  on
 this point, and they testified that weights were fasten-
 ed in order to produce their  descent.  The explana-
 tion of Dr. Garth is, how ever, perfectly satisfactory
 on this point.   It is the same which is mentioned in
 a former page.  Weights  are added to prevent the
 buoyancy when putrefaction commences.  In answer
 to a  question from the judge, (Baron  Hatsell,) Dr.
 Garth remarked, that the body of a  strangled person
 might possibly float, on account of the included air.
 In this instance, however, there was no proof of such
 a cause of death.
   Dr. Crell  insisted much on  the  presence  of the
 frothy mucus about the mouth and nostrils, as a proof
 that  Mrs. Stout  had been drowned.
   The  coroner's jury had returned  a verdict of non
 compos mentis, and  Mr. Cowper, on  the  trial,  at-
tempted to prove a previous melancholy state of mind.
This, of course, was for the purpose of rendering it
probable that suicide had been committed.

 •* ,!?r^M.0rle^ su?6e"i?d' t]?at if the fema,e intended to destroy herself, she
might, by keeping her breath, only take in a very small quantity of water. 
PERSONS FOUND  DEAD.
6?
   These were the leading  medicolegal  facts and
opinions  elicited on the trial, and the jury,  after re-
maining out about half an hour,  brought in a verdict
of not guilty.*
   A case resembling the above in several particulars,
has happened in this state.
   Levi Weeks was, on the 31st of March, 1800, put
upon his trial, before the court of oyer and terminer
at  New-York, for  the murder  of Gulielma Sands.
The principal circumstances  were as follows :—The
deceased  and the prisoner lodged in the house of Mr.
Ring, who was a distant relative of the former.   She
received attentions from  the prisoner, and told Mrs.
Rii.g that she  was to be married to him on Sunday,
the 22d of December, 1799.   When the evening ar-
rived, she dressed  herself, and  came down into the
lower room, where the prisoner was.   Shortly after,
she again weut up stairs, whither Mrs. Ring followed
her, saw  her put on her hat and shawl, and  take her
muff in her hand.   While in this state of preparation,
Mrs. Ring came down stairs  into the room, and found
her husband and Levi sitting together.  The  latter
instantly  took his hat and went out into the  entry,
and the moment the door opened, Mrs. Ring heard a
walking on the stairs,  and  directly a  whispering at
the door.  She soon heard them walking along, and
presently the front door  opened, and  the latch fell.
The  time she accurately fixed at about ten  minutes
after eight.  Weeks returned to his lodgings at Ring's
at ten o'clock.  Gulielma's  body was  found in the
Manhattan well, on the 2d of January, 1800.
   As to the circumstantial evidence, I will only add
the following.   It  was  proved  by  a  witness, that

  * Hargrave's State Trials, vol. 5, p. 193 to 231.  This case gave rise to se-
veral bitter pamphlets, in which the whole course of testimony was review-
ed, and the characters of Mrs. Stout and Mr. Cowper were treated with littlf!
inercy. See vol.8, p. 485 to 512.  The opponent of Mr. Cowper accuses
him or his accomplices in broad terms, of having felled her with a blow-
under the ear, and then strangling her with his hand.  Such an opinion is,
however, hardly tenable, as Dimsdale and Camlin both stated, that the stag-
nation of blood which was present, did not materially differ from what L
usually observed in the drowned. 
68             PERSONS FOUND  DEAD.

Weeks had spent the evening  with him  from halt'
past eight until ten ; and again it was testified, that it
took fifteen minutes to  walk from Ring's to the well.
   The medico-legal testimony was  of  the following
import.  The body was  carefully drawn  up, so  as
not to touch either side of the well.   Her hat, hand-
kerchief and shoes were  gone, another clothes torn.
On the right hand there was something like a bruise,
and there were scratches of sand upon her skin, some
of  which was knocked off, and seemed to have been
driven forward.   The right foot was bare,  and some-
what scratched on its  upper part, as if she had been
dragged on the ground.   Her countenance was flush-
ed, and her arms and neck very limber.   Drs. Prince
and Mackintosh examined the hody before the coro-
ner's jury, on the 3d January.  It was ascertained
that she was not pregnant  The scarf-skin  of the
face was scratched as if with gravel, and there was a
bruise on the knee.  There was a livid spot on the
breast, but none on the neck.   In the body, a small
quantity of water was discovered.  Both these gen-
tlemen deposed, that in their opinion, all the appear-
ances  could be accounted for on the supposition of
her having been drowned.
  Dr. Hosack saw the body on the day it was inter-
red.  He was  struck with the unusual redness of the
countenance, and upon looking at the neck, observed
three or four  dark-coloured spots,  of  an irregular
shape, but not in an exact line.  The largest were
about an inch and an  half, and the  smallest about
three-quarters  of an inch.  He was decidedly  of
opinion that these were marks of violence done to the
neck, and  did not conceive it possible that they could
have been committed  on one's  own person.   Other
witnesses had  also observed these spots on the neck.
  Towards the conclusion of  the trial,  Dr. Hosack
was again called, and  asked whether there was any
explanation \)\ which  the medical testimony, appa*
rently so discordant,  could be  reconciled.  He re-
plied, that it might, in either of two ways.   First, the 
PERSONS  FOUND DEAD.
69
spots were  probably not  so visible, when the body
was first taken out of the water,  as after it had been
exposed to the air for some days.   The gradual pro-
gress of  putrefaction might  have developed this  ap-
pearance in the  injured part.  Secondly,  when  she
was first taken out of the well, it was generally sup-
posed that the neck and collar bone were broken.  As
Dr. H.' did not see her until  the day of interment,  it is
possible that the frequent  turning and bending of the
head, and the repeated examinations of the neck, to
ascertain  the injury done to the collar bone, might
have produced the spots in question, and as the body
had  been  dead for several days, a  little  violence
might have produced a rupture of the cutaneous ves-
sels, and a consequent effusion under the skin.
   The prisoner was acquitted.*
   I  cannot  avoid  venturing a  single remark on this
case.  The prisoner was doubtless  innocent, but there
are strong proofs to my mind, that the deceased suffer-
ed violence,  previous to falling or being thrown into
the well.  The weather was  undoubtedly cold, (it was
during the holidays,)  and the  progress of putrefac-
tion  during immersion,  must unquestionably  have
been  very  slow.!   1ne  coroner's jury viewed the
body  on the  day after it was  drawn  up.   Dr.  Ho-
sack, and other witnesses,  sometime thereafter.   Is
it not probable that exposure  to  the air  developed

  " Report of the trial of Levi Weeks, &.c. taken  in short-hand by the clerk
of the court, (Wm. Coleman, Esq.) 8vo. N. York, 1800.—In the  Causes Ce-
Lebres, par Mejan, vol. 5, p. 127, a case is related, of an individual taken
from the water, around whose body a bag containing several large stones
was suspended.  Distinct marks of compression were observed in the neck*
and on dissecting through the skin, blood was found effused in situations cor-
responding to the external ecchymosis. One of the cervical vertebrae was
luxated. The accusation was, that he had been strangled previous to the im-
mersion ; while the defence set up, rested on various proofs of previous in-
sanity, and it was insinuated that the luxation might have originated from
the fall into the well.  The jury (Feb. 12, 1808,) acquitted the persons ac-
cused, but certainly no proofs need be stronger to determine  the fact of
murder previous to submersion.
  t On the 19th of Jan. 1810, the Hon. Mr. Eden, son of Lord Auckland,
was missing, and in March following,  his body was  found  in the Thames,
Mr. Holt, surgeon, gave his opinion to the coroner's jury,  that at this sea-
son of the year, a body might be a month or jive weeks in the water, without
becoming putrid.  Edin. Ann. Reg. vol. 3, part 2, p. 42. 
 70            PERSONS  FOUND  DEAD.

 these marks of injury,  and do not these marks indi-
 cate strangulation previous to immersion ?
   There is a second  question  belonging to this sub-
 ject, which is no less intricate than  the first.   Was
 the drowning  the effect of accident, of suicide, or of
 homicide P 1 can offer but a few observations on it.
   We should  enquire  particularly as  to the situa-
 tion in which the body is found—notice whether the
 stream is rapid or still water,  and whether its banks
 are precipitous or sliding.  Ascertain whether the in-
 dividual  has laboured under near-sightedness, verti-
 go,  or symptoms of  insanity.   The bruises on the
 body should be  examined,  and a minute dissection
 be made.  We should,  however,  recollect, that  the
 person may have precipitated himself into the water,
 and struck against a stone or other  hard substance,  gy
 and the body  may have thus been  wounded.*   In
 other cases, accidental circumstances may clear  up
 the subject, as the marks  of footsteps on the margin of
 the water, and  substances found grasped in the hands
 of the deceased,  that have evidently  been  seized
 while  making resistance.!
   It is an opinion with some writers, that less water is
 found  in  the lungs of  suicides than in those who are
 drowned by accident,  or  wilfully ; but  this is  evi-
 dently  uncertain and unfounded.
   In March 1806,  a  young woman at  Little Shef-
 field, in Yorkshire, made way with herself, by break-
 ing a hole in the ice upon a pond,  and thrusting her
 head in,  while  the  rest of the  body  remained  out.
 This situation repelled the idea either of force  or of
 accident.!
   In 1776,  a young man named Paulet,  of a violent
 and gloomy temper,  was found dead at the bottom of

  * Male, p. 236.
  t " In the case of Mr. Taylor, aged 20, who was murdered at Hornsey in
Dec. 1818, marks of footsteps,  deep in the ground, were discovered near
the New river, and on taking out the body, the hands were found clenched,
and contained grass, which he had seized from the side of the water.' ■
 Smith, p. 215.
  X Smith, p. 275. 
PERSONS  FOUND DEAD.
71
a well.   Strong suspicions attached to two individu-
als.  The medical reporters  stated that they found
sand under the nails of his hands ; a circular mark
on his ankle-bones, external  contusions on the head
and particularly above the left superciliary ridge, and
some cuts on the top of the scalp.  On  opening the
thorax, the whole extent of the trachea  down to the
lungs was found filled with frothy mucus,  and the
stomach was half full of a whitish water.   They con-
sidered these  as  marks of death by  drowning.   It
was proved that the  well  was  so  surrounded by
houses, that the slightest noise at it would have been
immediately heard, and it was also constructed with
sharp and  heavy stones.  The marks on  the ankle-
bones were alone of a doubtful nature, but as Paulet
had been  melancholy, and refused  sustenance for
several days,  and every other circumstance could be
satisfactorily explained,  the parliament  of Toulouse
liberated  the accused, and agreed that  suicide had
been committed.*
   One would imagine, says Dr. Smith, that if a per-
son be taken  out  of the water  tied hand and foot,
there need be no  hesitation about inferring that he
had been  forced into  that situation, yet a probable
instance to the contrary,  happened lately in London.
   In June 1816,  the body of a gauging instrument-
maker who had been missing for some days from his
home, was  discovered  floating  down the Thames.
On being taking  out, his wrists were found tied to-
gether and made fast to his knees, which were in like
manner,  secured to each other.   He had  been in a
state of mental derangement for two years.  The cord
with  which he had tied himself was  recognized  as
one that had hung from the  ceiling over his bed, and
by which he used  to raise himself up, as  he had been
confined to bed for some weeks.   He  was a good
swimmer, and it was presumed he had taken the pre-
caution to prevent himself from employing that power.
The verdict in this case was, Ci found drowned."!

 * Fodere, vol. 3, p. 127, from the Causes Celebrex      t Smith, p. 27© 
i z
PERSONS FOUND DEAD.
           6.  Of persons found smothered.
   There is but little to be said  concerning this spe-
 cies of suffocation,  and I introduce it only because I
 would not omit a notice of any cause of death.
   Smothering is the covering of the mouth  and nos-
 trils in any way, so as to prevent the free ingress  and
 egress of air.   It happens  most  frequently with chil-
 dren,  either  as an accident  or a crime—and in the
 former case,  from  overlaying them, as it is called.
 This occurs by a pillow, bolster or bed clothes, com-
 ing in  contact with their face in  such a manner, that
 their struggles cannot remove it.
   Adults in a  state of intoxication,  or debility, may
 also be destroyed  by  getting into a position which
 prevents  the  transit of air to the lungs, and then
 being unable to extricate themselves.  It will seldom
 be used as an instrument of homicide, since a moder-
 ate degree of resistance can generally prevent its ef-
 fectual application.
  Death in these cases is  the direct consequence of
 the passage of the blood through the lungs being pre-
 vented, and we must of course expect to find corres-
 pondent proofs on dissection.  But marks of external
 violence will not generally  be perceived.
  Dr.  Smith also adverts to a mode of suicide said to
 be practised  by negroes, which  is, that of doubling
 back the tongue and swallowing it down  into the
fauces  so low, as completely to choke the individual.
 This is  certainly an extraordinary way of ending
 life.
  In death by smothering, circumstantial evidence  3
 must be the principal, if not the only means of ascer-  m
 taming whether the  event has been produced by crime  <'
 or by accident.  Tumors pressing on the organs of
 respiration, or foreign bodies found in the trachea or
 oesophagus are of course,  indications  of  accidental
 death.*

   ?mith, p. 229 to 232, Fodere vol. 3, p. 177. 
              PERSONS FOUND DEAD.            73

"*     ? • Of persons found dead from wounds.
  The general course of investigation in cases of this
nature, has been laid down in the section on medico-
legal dissection, and we have only to consider the
important question, whether the wounds are the result
of suicide, of accident, or of homicide.
  I must preface my  remarks by observing,  that in
legal medicine the term wound, is used in a much more
comprehensive sense  than in surgery.  In the latter,
it means a solution of continuity ; in the former, in^
juries of every kind that affect either the hard or the
soft parts, and accordingly under it are comprehend-
ed, bruises, contusions, fractures, luxations, &c.
  The preliminary object necessary in these cases, is
to enquire into the appearances on the body, and to
ascertain whether they belong to  ecchymosis, or su-
gillation.   The  distinction between these has alrea-
dy been stated.  We should then pay great attention
to the following circumstances : the situation in which
the wounded body is found—the position of its mem-
bers, and the state of  its  dress—the expression of
countenance—the marks of violence, if any be present
on  the body—the redness or suffusion of the face.
This last is important, as it may indicate violence, in
order to stop the cries of the individual.  The quan-
tity of blood on the ground, or on the clothes, should
be noticed, and in particular the nature of the wound,
its depth and direction.  In  a case of supposed sui-
cide, by means  of a knife or pistol, the course of the
wound should be examined,  whether it be upwards
or downwards, and the  length of the arm should be
compared with the direction of the injury.  Ascertain
whether the right or left arm has been used, and as
the former  is most commonly employed, the direction
should correspond with it, and be from right to left.
   When a wound is  alledged to have been commit-
ted by accident,  we may enquire into the probability
of this, by comparing the stature of the body with the
person who caused the accident; and thus ascertain
    VOL. II.             10 
n
.persons  Found  dead.
whether  the wound could have been received in it*
existing direction.   Th?  place where  the accident
has happened, and a  comparison of the instrument
used with the  injury inflicted,  may also give useful
light.
  When a person is found dead at the foot of a preci-
pice, or appears to have fallen from any height,  we
should naturally expect,  that fractures,  irregular
wounds and contusions would be present.
  Madmen and  suicides, it must be remembered, of-
ten inflict the most painful and extraordinary wounds
on themselves.   In suspected cases, we should ascer-
tain  the previous history of the deceased, his state of
mind,  ana  worldly situation.    The   countenance
should also be  noticed.   In suicides,  it is usually
haggard,  the ejes are sunk,  and this  physiognomy
continues while a spark of vitality remains in the bo-1
dy.  Those, on  the contrary, who are the victims of
assassination, have a degree of paleness and fear im-
printed on their visage.*  '
   These directions, though they may appear minute,
are notwithstanding important, in consequence of the
difficulty of the subject,  and the fact  that there is
scarcely any description of wound which may not be
inflicted by an individual  on himself.   Some, how-
ever, may be excepted, as when  a person  has  been
wounded by a small and sharp-pointed instrument in
the  spinal marrow, and generally indeed all wounds
from behind.
   Fire-arms are frequently used as an instrument of
 death, and  here some  inference may be drawn from
the  nature  of the wound.  If the ball has  passed
through the body, it  is probable that  the murderer
was near, or that the individual inflicted it on himself.
 We cannot, however, rest much on this fact.   The
 direction is of  more importance  : " It may be taken
 for  granted," says Dr. Smith, "that  if the  weapon
 has been introduced into  the deceased's mouth,  and
 there discharged, it has not been done by another."
» Foder£> vol. 3, p. 1811» 188. 
PERSONS  FOUND  DEAD.
75
  Collateral circumstances will also throw some light.
Two cases have lately happened, the one in England,
and the other in France, where the wadding  was ex-
amined, and discovered to have been torn Irom paper
found in the possession of the murderer.*  Again,  a
man was found shot, and his owrn pistol lay near him,
from which circumstance, (and no person having been
seen to enter or leave the house of the deceased,)  it
was concluded  that he had destroyed himself; but
on examining the ball by which he had been killed,
it was found too large ever to have entered that pis-
tol :  in  consequence of which  discovery, suspicion
fell upon the real murderers.!  Authors have also
mentioned the  discoloration of  the fingers from the
combustion of the powder  in the pan, as a  mark of
suicide, and  it is certainly an important sign, but  a
crafty assassin might also have recourse to it.!
  A few cases will  form the best commentary on the
remarks now made.
  On the 8th of February,  1792, S.  D. aged about
thirty years, and of a robust constitution,  became in-
toxicated at an inn near Morges in Switzerland, and
in a room heated very warm by a German stove.  At
eleven o'clock at night, he left this place quite drunk,
in order to return home, which was at the distance of
half a league. The weather was cold, and the ground
covered with snow.   The next morning this man was
found dead at the side of a  ditch, within a small dis-
tance from his dwelling.  A report soon circulated
that he had been assassinated,  and a medical man,
who saw the body, asserted the certainty of it.  The
supposed  murderer was already pointed out, when
Dr. Desgranges,  who then resided at Morges, was
ordered to inspect the body.
  No traces  of injury were found,  nor indeed any
contusions, until in turning  the head from the left to
the right side, an oblique wound, about three-quar-
ters of an inch  externally,  was discovered,  situated

  * Smith, p. 2S0,281.           t Male, p. 180.
  ; Smith, p. 281. 
 76            PERSONS FOUND DEAD.

 below the under jaw, and nearly at the top of the la-
 rynx.  On introducing the little finger  into this aper-
 ture, its size internally was found greater than its ex-
 ternal appearance indicated.   Its depth was  about
 one inch, and extended to the cesophagus and top of
 the trachea.   The clothes of the deceased were stain-
 ed with blood, as was also the snow on which he lay.
   As the wound which presented itself did not re-
 semble any  inflicted by  ordinary  instruments, Dr.
 Desgranges  was led to the opinion,  that the injury
 was caused by a kind of auger which  the deceased
 had taken with him  from  the tavern, and  which he
 had held under his arm,  with the  handle back-
 wards.  This  was  found laying  at the side of the
 man, covered  with clotted blood.   The  truth of the
 conjecture was confirmed by opening the  wound, and
 putting the auger into it, when it was found to apply
 completely.   On further dissection, it was ascertained
 that the left carotid  had  been wounded, and that
 hence  the immediate cause of death  had  been the-
 hsemorrhage from it.   These  facts  seemed  to decide
 the question as to its being an accident, and it was also
 supposed, that in endeavouring to remove the auger
 on which he had fallen, he had moved  it round, and
 thus made the internal wound larger  than the ex-
 ternal.*
   Iu 1813, some excitement was caused in England
 on account of the sudden death of Sellis, a servant of
 the Duke of  Cumberland,  and the simultaneous in-
jury received by his  Royal Highness.  Sir Everard
 Home published a declaration on this subject, which
 seems to indicate that  Sellis committed suicide, after-
 attempting the life of the Duke.   " I  visited  the
 Duke," says Sir Everard, " upon his being wounded,
 and found my way from the great hall  to his apart-
 ment, by the traces of blood  which were left on the
 passages and  staircase.  I found him on  the bed,
 still bleeding—his shirt deluged with blood, and the

 * Fodere, vol. 3, p. 190. The case was communicated by Dr. Desgran 
Persons  found dead.
77
coloured drapery above the pillows  sprinkled with
blood from a wounded artery,  which puts on  an  ap-
pearance that cannot be mistaken by those who have
seen it.  This could not have happened, had not the
head been laying on the pillow when it was wounded.
The night ribbon, which was wadded, the cap, scalp
and skull, were obliquely divided,  so that the pulsa-
tions of the arteries of the brain could be distinguish-
ed.  While dressing these wounds,  a report came
that Sellis was  dead.   I went to his apartment—
found the body laying on his side on the bed, without
his coat and neckcloth—the throat cut so effectually,
that he could not  have  survived  a minute or  two.
The length and direction of the wound was such as
left no doubt of its being given by his own hand : any
struggle would have made it irregular.   He had not
even changed his position—his hands lay as they do
in a person who has fainted ; tbey had no marks of
violence upon them—his coat hung upon  a chair,  out
of the reach of blood from the bed—the sleeve, from
 the wrist  to the shoulder,  was sprinkled with blood
 quite dry, evidently from a wounded artery, and from
such kind of sprinkling, the arm of the assassin of the
Duke of Cumberland could  not escape."*
   Having mentioned a case of  accident, and  another
 of probable suicide, I will now state one of homicide.
 The case was found reported  among the  papers of
 Sir John Maynard, an eminent English  lawyer, and
 is stated by him to have occurred  in the fourth  year
 of Charles I.  It happened in Hertfordshire.
    Jane Norkott  was found dead in her bed—her
 throat cut, and the knife sticking  in the floor.  Two
 females and a man slept in the adjoining room, and
 they deposed, that  the night before, she  went to  bed
 with her child, her husband being  absent, and that no
 person after that time came into the house.  The co-
 roner's jury gave a verdict of felo  de se.   But a sus-
 picion being excited  against these  individuals, the

   * Etlin. Ann. Register, vol. 6,part 2, p. 19. Smith, p. 284 
78
PERSONS  FOUND  DEAD.
 jury, whose  verdict was not yet drawn  up in form,
 desired that she might be taken up; and accordingly,
 thirty days after her death, she was taken  up. and the
 jury charged  them  with  the murder.  They were
 tried at the Hertford assizes, and acquitted, but  so
 much against  evidence, that Judge Harvey let fall his
 opinion, that it were better an appeal  were brought,
 than so foul  a murder  should  escape unpunished.
 And accordingly, an appeal was brought by the child
 against his father,  grandmother, aunt, and her hus-
 band Okeman.
   The evidence adduced  was, "that she  lay in a
 composed manner in  her bed—the bed-clothes not at
 all disturbed,  and  her  child by  her  in  bed.   llr
 throat was cut from ear  to ear, and her neck broke.
 There was no blood in the bed, saving a  tincture  of
 blood on the  bolster whereon her  head lay, but no
 substance of blood at all.  From the bed's head, there
 was a stream of blood on the  floor, which ran along
 until it ponded in the  bendings of  the floor.   It was
 a  very  great quantity, and there  was also another
 stream  of blood on the floor at the bed's foot, which
 ponded also on the floor to a very great quantity, but
 no continuance or communication of blood of either of
 these two places from  one to the other, neither upon
 the bed—so that she bled in two several places ; and
 it  was deposed, that on turning ujTithe mat of the bed,
 there were clots of congealed blood in the straw of
 the mat  underneath,  The  bloody knife was found
 in the morning sticking  in the floor, a good  distance
 from the bed, but the point  of  the knife, as  it stuck,
 was towards the bed, and  the  haft from  the  bed.
 Lastly, there was the print  of a thumb and four fin-
 gers of a left hand.
   Sir Nicholas Hyde, chief justice.  How can you
know the print of a right hand  from that of the left
in  such a case ?  Witness. My Lord, it is  hard to
 describe ; but if it please  the honourable judge to put
his left Jhand upon your left hand, you cannot possibly
place your right hand in the  same posture; which* 
PERSONS  FOUND DEAD.
79
being cloue,  and  appearing  so,  the  defendants had

time to make their defence,  but  gave no  evidence to

any purpose."

   The jury brought in all guilty  except Okeman, and

they were executed, but made no confession.*

   Whether  these were the guilty persons or not, it is

certainly proved  most  incontestably that  the female

was murdered.

   The Earl of Essex Was committed to  the Tower

on the 10th of July, 1683, on a charge  of  high  trea-

son, and on the 13th, was found dead in his  chamber,

with his throat  cut.  A coroner's jury was  summon-

ed,  but before they were impanneled,  the Earl's

body was taken out of  the closet where  it  lay,  and

stript of its clothes.   These were carried away,  and

the closet washed.   And when one of the jury insist-


  * Hargrave's State Trials, vol. 10, appendix No. 2, p. 29.   The above,
however, are not the only remarkable circumstances in this case.  " Be-
cause the evidence," says Sir John Maynard," was so strange, I took exact
and particular notice, and it was as follows :  An ancient and grave person,
minister to the parish where the fact was committed, being sworn to give evi-
dence, accoruing to custom, deposed,  "That the body being taken up out
of the grave, thirty  days after the party's death, and lying on the grass ;
and the four defendants being present, were required each of them  to touch
the dead body.  Okeman's wife fell upon her knees, and prayed God to
show  tokens of  her innocency.  The  appellant did touch the dead body,
whereupon the brow of the dead, which before was of a livid and carrion
colour (in terminis,  the verbal expression of the witness,)  began to have a
dew or gentle sweat arise on it, which increased by degrees,  till the sweat
ran down in drops on the face j the brow  turned to a lively and fresh
colour ; and the deceaseiope'ned one of  her eyes, and shut it again, and
this opening the eye  was flone three several times.  She likewise thrust out
the ring or marriage  finger three times, and pulled it in again, and the fin-
ger dropped blood from it on the grass."   Sir Nicholas Hyde, chief justice,
seeming to doubt the evidence,  asked the witness,  Who saw this besides
you ?  Witness. I  cannot swear what others saw.  But, my Lord, (said he)
I do believe the whole company saw it, and if it had been thought a doubt,
proof would have been made of it, and many  would have attested with me.
Then the witness, observing some admiration in the auditors, spake further,
" My Lord, I am minister of the parish, and  have long known all the par
ties, but never had occasion of displeasure against any of them, nor had  to
do with them, or they with me ;  but as I was minister, the thing was won-
derful to me.  But I  have no interest in the matter, but as called upon  to
testify the truth, arid this I have done " [This witness was a very reverend
 Iierson, as 1 guessed, of about seventy years of age.  His testimony was de-
 ivered gravely and temperately, to the great admiration of the anditory.]
Whereupon,  applying himself to the chief justice, he said, "  My Lord, my
brother here present, is minister of the next parish adjacent, and I am sure
saw all done that I have affirmed "  Therelore that person was also sworn
to give evidence, and  did depose in  every  point—" the sweating of the
brow—the change of the colour—thrice opening the eye—the  thrice motion
of the finger, and drawing it in again."  Only the first witness added, that 
so
PERSONS  FOUND  DEAD.
cd upon seeing his clothes, the coroner was  sent for
into another room, and upon his return, told the jury
it was my Lord's body, and not his clothes, they wen
to  sit upon.   Before the jury, two surgeons, Sher-
wood and Andrews, deposed as to the wound.  Sher-
wood stated,  that  the aspera arteria and the gullet,
with the jugular arteries, were all divided.  Andrews
said, that the throat was cut from one jugular to  the
other, and  through the windpipe  and gullet into  the
vertebrae of the neck, both jugular veins being divid-
ed.   The verdict of the coroner's jury was in the fol-
lowing words :—That  with  a razor,  " the  Earl of
Essex gave himself one mortal wound, cut from one
jugular to the other, and by the aspera arteria and the
windpipe to the vertebres of the neck,  both the jugu-
lars being thoroughly divided : and of this he died."
   One Laureuce Braddon  shortly after, formed the
opinion  that the Earl of Essex  had been murdered,
and (as he  afterwards stated,) conceived it to  have
been accomplished by individuals who were'allowed
to pass by the earl's keepers.   These  murderers he
supposed,  were set on by the Duke of York,  after-
ward James the II.   He was tried for a misdemean-
or  in suborning witnesses,  to prove this, and was
found guilty and fined ,£2000.   After the revolution,
in  1690, he published a pamphlet entitled, " The

he himself dipped his finger in the blood which came from the dead body,
to examine it, and he swore he believed it was blood. I conferred after-
wards with Sir Edward Powell, barrister at law, and others, who all con-
curred in the observation.  And for myself, if I were upon oath, can de-
pose, that these depositions (especially the first witness) are truly reported
in substance."  Ibid. p. 29.
  In the trial of Standsfield for the murder of his father, (see p. 46 of this
chap.) a similar charge was brought. It is stated, that when the son was as-
sisting in lifting the body of his father into the coffin, it bled afresh,and defiled
all his hand. The opposite lawyers observe, that " this is but a superstitious
observation, without any ground either in law or reason.  Carpzovius say9
he has seen a body bleed in  the presence of one not guilty, and not bleed
when the guilty were present."  They assign, with great probability, as the
cause of this bleeding, the fact  that the surgeons had made an incision
about the neck, and that the motion of the body in removing it, caused the
fresh haemorrhage from that part. Hargrave, vol. 4, p. 283.—I will refer
those who  are curious on this subject, to Metzger, p. 328 ; and Valentini
Novellae, App. 3.  De slillicidio sanguinis in homi7iis violenter accisi, cadcn
vert conspicui. an sit mfficiens prasentis homicides indicium? 
              PERSONS FOUND DEAD.            8l

turt of  Essex's innocency and  honor vindicated,"
which contains some additional particulars.
   The closet was  about three feet two inches wide,
and there was no  blood  higher than the floor.   The
instrument itself was a French razor four  and a quar-
ter inches in its blade,  and no  spill or  tongue at the
end.   Hence  it  must have been  held  by the blade,
and it would seem difficult to inflict so large a wound
with it.  A surgeon is stated to have suggested to the
coroner's jury,  that  the  notches in the razor  were
made by  my lord against his neck  bone.   Lord Essex
was right handed  and the razor lay on the left side.
Two witnesses swore that the neck of his cravat was
cut in three pieces,  and there were five cuts on his
right hand.
   Bishop Burnet is of opinion, that the earl commit-
ted suicide.   He observes, that "  when the body was
brought  home to his own house,  and the wound was
examined by his own surgeon,  he said to me, it was
impossible that the wound could be as it was, if given
by any hand but his own.  For except he had cast
his head  back and  stretched up his neck all he could,
the aspera arteria must liave  been cut."   Both the
jugulars  and gullet (he adds) were cut just above the
a spera arteria.
   The reader will notice  the discrepancy between
this account,  and the statement given under oath by
the surgeons before the coroner's jury.
   This subject was also agitated for some time before
a committee of the  house of lords,  and several physi-
cians and surgeons, who were  examined before  them
declared, " that  they  would not positively say that it
was impossible for my lord to cut his throat through
each jugular vein, the aspera arteria and gullet,  to the
very neck bone,  and even behind each jugular vein
on each side of the neck, (as some judicious surgeons
who had  viewed the throat had reported it  to be
cut,) but this they would be very positive in, that
they never saw  any man's throat so cut,  which was
cut by himself.  And they did then further declare,
    t9M, it*                u 
82
PERSONS FOUND DEAR.
 that they did believe, that when  any man  had cut
 through one of his jugular veins and the gullet and
 windpipe,  and to the very neck bone,  nature  would
 thereby be so luuch weakened by the great  effusion
 of blood and animal spirit,  that the felo de se would
 not  have strength  sufficient,  to cut  through  and be-
 hind the other jugular,  as my lord's throat,  by sur-
 geons who saw it, was said to be cut."
   Bishop Burnet relies on some doubtful expressions
 used by the earl,  as a proof that he intended to des-
 troy himself, but it would  certainly seem from a re-
 view of the above facts, that the  earl had been mur-
 dered.*
   I will close this section with  a case of death by
 fire  arms.
   C. D. residing in the same house with his sister-in-
 law, suddenly disappeared. After a course of judicial
 researches, his body was found buried in a cemetery,
 wrapped in ten folds of linen, and with his clothes on,
 covered with blood. In his left side were two round
 holes,  distant about five inches from  each other.—
 The medical  examiners reported that one of these
 penetrated from side to side, so as to  take off a part of
 the right breast, and on pursuing the dissection, the
 ball was found to have entered at the last true rib of
 the left side, to have passed the stomach of  which it
 wounded the upper part, and to have pierced the duo«
 denum  with a wound five inches long, and finally to
 have passed  out at the first false rib of the left side.
 Corresponding holes were found  in  the clothes  and
 shirt, and they therefore gave it as their opinion,  that
 these wounds had been  inflicted by fire  arms,  and
 were the cause of death.   On this,  the sister-in-law of
the deceased was arrested, as the clandestine  burial,

  * The authorities from which I have drawn the above narrative, are :—
 The Trial of L. Braddon, in Hargrave's State Trials, vol. 3, p. 855. Tlie
Earl of Essex's innocency and honour vindicated, by L. Braddon. Ibid. vol. 3,
p. 899 to 934.  The Republick of Letters for August, 1735. " Some passage*
sent by a person of honour to the author of the Republic," he  Burnet vol
2, p. 212 and 234; and Smith, p. 282 and 283.  There is also another 'pam-
phlet by Braddon, (published in 1725,) reprinted in Howell's State Trials,
vol. 9, p. 1229. 
PERSONS FOUND DEAD.
8£
together with the wrapping up of the body, led to
doubts concerning her innocence.
  Mr. Pelletan, and another surgeon, whose name is
not mentioned,  were consulted on the case.   They
agreed, that no doubt could exist as to the cause of the
death being a wound from a  fusee ; but they at the
same time affirmed,  that the deceased might have in-
flicted it,  either voluntarily or involuntarily on him-
self, and that another person could not have done  it
without being in an ambuscade, with his knee on the
ground, and the deceased walking.   From these cir-
cumstances, they were of opinion that the sister-in
law was not the murderer, if  murder  had been com-
mitted.
  On this decision,  I may remark with Fodere,  that
it seems difficult that a wound inflicted in this manner,
and nearly in a horizontal line,  could have been caus-
ed by suicide ;  while again, the sister-in-law, though
not the actual murderer, might notwithstanding have
been an accessary.  She was, however,' acquitted.*

         8. Of persons found burnt to death.
  The same circumstances to which we have directed
the attention of the examiner in previous sections, are
to be noticed in cases of this  nature.  Dissection,  if
it be practicable, must not be omitted.
  There is an instance related by Fodere which  pre-
sents a  most  instructive lesson.   In 1809, a wretch
murdered several individuals with an axe, and then
set  fire to the house.   The  medical officer did not
deem it worth while to  examine the bodies, and cer-
tified that their death was owing to  the fire.   Mean-
while an individual was discovered murdered about one
hundred paces from the house, and suspicion being ex-
cited, the bodies were disinterred.   It was found that
the flames had only burnt the  flesh superficially,  and
that the marks of the axe were still distinctly visible.!

 * Pelletan, vol. 1, p. 306 to 323.  Fodere, vol. 3, p. 199.
 t Foder£, vol. 3, p. 18. 
84             PERSONS FOUND DEAD.

  There  is  one question  that may arise  in  cases
where persons  are found  burnt  to death, which is
alike interesting and curious ; and that is, can there
be such a thing as spontaneous combustion in the
human body ?  Several cases are recorded of this na-
ture which I shall relate, and leave the reader to form
his own opinion concerning their value.*
  It is stated,  in the transactions of the Copenhagen
society, that in 1692,  a woman of the lower  class,
who  for three  years had used spirituous liquors  to .
such excess that she took no other  nourishment, hav-
ing sat down one evening on a straw chair to sleep,
was consumed  in the night  time, so that next morn-
ing no part  of her was found but the skull, and the
extreme  joints of the fingers.  All  the rest of her bo-
dy  was reduced to ashes.!
  The Countess Cornelia Bandi cf Cesena, in Italy,
aged 62, and in good health, was accustomed to bathe
all  her body in  camphorated spirits of wine.   One
evening, having experienced a sort of drowsiness, she
retired to bed,  and her maid remained with her till
she fell asleep.  Next morning, when  the girl enter-
ed to wake her mistress, she found  nothing but the re-
mains of her body in the most horrible condition.  At
the distance of  four feet from the bed, was a heap of
ashes, in which the legs  and arms were alone un-
touched.   Between  the   legs  lay the head.   The
brain, together with half the posterior part of the cra-
nium, and the whole chin, had been consumed ; three
fingers were found in the state of a coal, and the rest
of  the body was  reduced  to ashes,  which,  when
touched, left on the fingers a fat, foetid moisture.  A

  * Probably the term spontaneous is not strictly accurate, since we always
find some burning body mentioned as exciting the phenomenon in question.
I have adopted it, because of its general use, and  also because the term hu-
man combustion, which it has-been proposed to substitute in its place, ap-
pears too indefinite.
  t See an article in the Emporium of Arts and  Sciences, edited by J. R
Coxe, M D. vol. 1, p. 161, entitled, " On the combustion of the human body,
produced by the long and immoderate use of spirituous liquors, by Pierre
Aime Lair."  This essay was originally written in French. • In my furthe?
quotations from it, I shall, for brevity, use the word Lair only. 
PERSONS  FOUND  DEAD.
85
-jtflall lamp which stood on the floor, was covered with
ashes, and contained  no oil; the tallow of two can-
dles was melted on a table, but the wicks still re-
mained, and the feet of the candlesticks were cover-
ed with moisture.   The bed was not deranged, the
bed clothes and coverlid were raised up, and thrown
on one side,  as is the case when a  person gets up.
The furniture and tapestry were covered with a moist
kind of soot, of the colour of ashes, which had pene-
trated into the drawers, and dirtied the  linen.
  This case is related by Bianchini, and confirmed
by other writers.*
  Grace Pett, the wife of a fishmonger of the parish
of St.  Clement, Ipswich, aged about sixty, had con-
tracted a habit, which  she continued for several years,
of coming down from  her bed-room every night, half
dressed, to smoke a pipe.  On the 9th of April, 1744,
she got up from bed as usual.   Her daughter, who
slept with her,  did not perceive  that she was absent
till next morning, when she awoke.   Soon after this,
she  put on her clothes, and going  down  into the
kitchen, found  her mother stretched out on her  right
side, with her head near the grate.   The body was
extended on the hearth, with the legs on the deal floor,
and it had the appearance of a log of wood consumed
by a fire, without apparent flame.  On  beholding the
spectacle, the girl ran  in great haste, and poured over
her mother's  body some water, to extinguish the fire.
The foetid odour and smoke  which exhaled from the
body, almost suffocated some of the neighbours who
had hastened to the  girl's  assistance.   The trunk
was in some  measure incinerated,  and resembled  a
heap of coals covered  with white ashes.  The head,
the  arras, the legs and the thighs, had also partici-
pated in the burning.  This woman, it is  said, had
drank a large quantity of spirituous liquor, in conse-
quence of being overjoyed to hear that  one of her
daughters had returned from Gibraltar.   There was

 * Lair, p. 162, who quotes the'Annual Register for 17(53. See also Phil.
Transactions, vol. 43, p. 447. 
86
PERSONS  FOUND  DEAD.
no fire in the grate, and the candle had burnt entirely
out in the socket of the candlestick, which was close
to her.  There were also found near the consumed
body,  the clothes of a child, and a paper  screen,
which  had  sustained no injury from the fire.  Her
dress consisted of a cotton gown.*
  Le Cat relates the following case, which was com-
municated to him by M. Boinneau,  cure of Plerguer
near Dol.  It  occurred in 1749.  Madame De Bois-
eon, eighty years of age, who had drank nothing but
spirits  for  several years,  was sitting in her elbow-
chair before the fire, while her waiting-maid went out
of the room  for a few moments.  On her return, see-
ing her mistress on  fire, she immediately gave  the
alarm,  and  some persons having come to her assist-
ance, one of them endeavored  to extinguish the flames
with his hand,  but they adhered to it,  as if it had
been dipped in  brandy, or oil on fire.  Water was
brought and thrown  on her, yet  the fire appeared
more violent, and was not extinguished till the whole
flesh had been  consumed.  Her skeleton, exceedingly
black, remained  entire in the chair, which was only
a little scorched—one leg only, and the two  hands,
detached themselves from  the rest of the  bones.   It
is not known whether her clothes had caught  fire by
approaching the grate, but she was  in the same place
iu which she sat every day—there  was no extraor-
dinary fire, and she had not fallen.!
  By a letter  from Gen. William Shepherd, it ap-
pears,  that on  the 16th of March, 1802, in one of the
towns of the state of Massachusetts, the body of an
elderly woman disappeared in the space of about one
hour and an half. Part of the family had retired  to
bed, and the rest were gone abroad.  The old woman
remained awake to take care of  the house.   Soon
after one of the grand-children came home, and disco-
vered the floor  near the hearth to be on fire.  An
alarm was given—a light brought,  and means taken
• Philosophical Transactions, vol. 43, p. 463
t Lair, p. 168. 
PERSONS FOUND  DEAD.               87
to  extinguish  it.   While  these things were  doing,

some  singular  appearances   were   observed  on the

hearth  and contiguous floor.   There  was a sort  of

greasy  soot  and  ashes,  with  remains  of  a  human

body,  and an unusual smell  in  the room.   All the

clothes were  consumed.   The fire had been small.*


  * Coxe's Emporium of Arts, vol. 1, p. 326, who quotes from Tilloch, vol,
14, p. 96.  The same case is also mentioned by Fodere, vol. 3, p. 208.—I
have cited the cases in the text, not so much  with reference to their pecu-
liar features,  as their geographical position.  There is a case respectively
from  Denmark, Italy,  England, France, and America.  Several other in-
stances are on record, to which I refer the reader for further details.  They

  1.  Mary Clues, aged fifty, at Coventry, (Eng.) Phil. Trans, vol. 64, p.340.
  2. An anonymous case, by Vicq D'Azyr,  of a woman aged fifty years.
  3. A case by Henry Bohanser, of a female at Paris.
  4. The wife of Sieur Millet, at Rheims, in 1726, related by Le Cat.
  5.  Mary Jauffret, at Aix in Provence, related by Muraire, a surgeon, in
the Journal de Medicine.
  6. Mademoiselle Thuars, at Caen, in 1782, related by Merille, a surgeon,
in the Journal de Medicine.
  7. Two anonymous cases of females at Caen.
  All these are mentioned by Lair :
  8. An anonymous case of a female at Paris in 1779.  Fodere, vol. 3, p. 207.
  9. The Priest Bertholi, in 1776, in Italy.   This is a very remarkable case,
and some particulars mentioned by Battaglia, the surgeon who  attended
him, may with propriety be added in this  place.  Bertholi was  travelling
about the country, and at evening arrived at the house of his brother-in-law.
He immediately desired to be shewn to his apartment, and when brought
to it, requested that a handkerchief should  be placed between his shirt and
shoulders.  This was done, and he was left to his devotions.  A few mi-
nutes had scarcely elapsed, before a noise  was heard in his room, and the
cries of the priest were particularly distinguished. On entering  the room,
he was found extended on the floor, and surrounded by a light flame, which
receded as they approached, and finally vanished.  On the next morning,
M. Battaglia was called, and examined  the patient.  He found the integu-
ments  of the right arm almost entirely detached from  the flesh, and be-
tween the shoulders and thighs, the integuments were injured.  There was
a mortification of the right hand, and this,  in spite of scarification, rapidly
extended itself. The patient complained of burning thirst, and was horribly
convulsed ; he passed  by stool putrid bilious matter, and was exhausted
with continual vomiting, accompanied with fever and delirium.  On the
fourth day, after two hours of comatose insensibility, he expired; and a
short time previous to his death, M. Batlaglia observed with astonishment,
that the body exhaled a most insufferable odour—worms  crawled from it
on the bed, and the nails had become detached from the left hand.
   The account of the patient was,  that  he  felt a stroke like the blow of a
cudgel on the right hand, and at the same time, saw a bluish flame attack
his shirt, which was immediately reduced to ashes, the wristbands in the
mean while remaining totally untouched.  The handkerchief between the
shoulders and shirt was entire, and  free from any trace of burning.  His
breeches were also uninjured, but though not a hair of his head was burnt,
yet his cap was entirely consumed. There was no fire in the room, except
that the lamp, which had been full  of oil, was now dry, and its wick reduced
to a cinder.   Fodere, vol. 3, p. 210.  Lou.  Med. Repository, v.ol. 1, p. 332.
   10. A female at Paris in 1804. ased 68, rented by Dr. Vigne.  FoderO,
 vol. 3, p. 216. 
88             PERSONS  FOUND DEAD.
   Some  deductions are drawn from these cases, by
Drs.  Lair and Marc,  which it is proper to mention.
1. The  subjects  were nearly all females—and they
were far advanced iu life.   The Countess of Cesena,
was 62,  Mary Clues 52, Grace  Pett 60,  Madame
de Boiseon 80,  and M. Thuars more than 60.   2.
Most of the individuals  had for a long time made an
immoderate use of spirituous liquors, and they were
either very fat or very  lean.   3. The combustion oc-
curred accidentally, and often from a slight cause, such
as a candle, a coal,  or even a  spark.  4.  The com-
bustion  proceeded  with great  rapidity,  but the ex-
tremities, such  as the  feet and the hands,  were gen-
erally spared by the fire.   5. Water,  instead  of ex-
tinguishing the flames  which proceeded from the parts
on fire, sometimes gave them more activity.   6. The
fire did  very little damage,  and  often  did not affect
the combustible  objects  which were  in contact with
the human body at the moment when it was burning.
7. The combustion of these bodies left as a residuum,
fat foetid ashes, with an unctuous, stinking and very
penetrating soot.  8. The combustions have occurred
at all seasons, and in northern,  as well as  southern
countries.*
   As to the cause of  these phoenomena,  two  opin-
ions  have been promulgated.  Lair and others sup-
pose that there is an  alkoholic impregnation of tins
body, and that actual  contact with fire  is then neces-
sary to produce them ;  while Maffei, Le Cat,  Kopp

  11. A female in France, aged 28, communicated by Dr. Prouteau, in Le-
roux's Journal de Medicine.  New-England Journal, vol. 4, p. 194.
  12." Airs. Laire, at Saulieu, in  1808, aged 60 years.  Ballard, p 414.
  13. Ignatius Meyer, aged 48,  in the village of Waertelfeld, bailiwick of
Schwalenberg in Germany.  This occurred on the 17th of January, 1811.
Meyer was a very intemperate  man. The parts of the body under the bed-
 Jlothes were not affected.   This case is related by Dr. Scherf of Detmold.
 ,ondon Med. Repository, vol.  3, p. 239.  New-York Medical Repository',
Vol. 18, p. 87.
  14 &, 15.  Two cases are said to have lately occurred in France.  Smith,
p. 60.  They may possibly be Nos. 10 and 11.
  If to these we add the five cases mentioned in the text, we shall have at
least eighteen cases that are recorded of this extraordinary phenomenon ;
and there are doubtless several  which I have not noticed.
   s Lair, p. 171. Fodere, vol. 3, p. 217.  Belloc,. p. 194. 
PERSONS FOUND DEAD.            89
and Marc attributes this combustion to the agency of
the electric fluid.*
   There is but one instance on record, that appears
to have been made the subject of judicial enquiry,
although it is evident that all might lead to suspicion,
and even condemnation.
   The case is related by Le  Cat* and is that of the
wife of the Sieur Millet, at Rheims. She got intoxicat-
ed every day, and the domestic economy of the house
was managed by a handsome  young  female.   This
woman was found consumed on the 20th of February,
1725,  at the distance of a foot and a half from  the
hearth iu her kitchen.   A  part  of the head  only,
with a portion of the lower extremities and a few of
the vertebrae,  had  escaped combustion.  A foot and
a half of the flooring under  the body had been con-
sumed, but a kneading trough and a tub, which were
very near the body, sustained no  injury.  M. Chre-
tien,  a surgeon, examined the remains of the body
with every juridical formality.  Jean Millet, the hus-
band, being interrogated by the judges, declared, that
about eight  in the evening of the  19th of February,
he had retired to rest with  his wife, who not being
able to sleep, had gone into the  kitchen, where he
thought she was warming herself; that having fallen
asleep, he was awakened about two o'clock by an in:
foctious odour, and that having run to the kitchen, he
found the remains of his wife, in the state described in
the report of the  physicians  and  surgeons.   The
judges formed an opinion, that he  had conspired with
bis servant to destroy the wife, and he was condemned
to death.  On appeal however to a higher court, this
decree was reversed, and it was pronounced a case of
human combustion, but his health and fortune were
irreparably destroyed, and he died in a hospital.!

  * A valuable paper on this subject is published in the American Medical
Recorder, vol. 5, p. 489, by Thomas D. Mitchell, M. D. The ingenious au-
thor supports, in a very satisfactory manner, the opinion, that combustible
Rases are generated in the system of drunkards, by the decomposition of
(he alcohol which is continually drank.
  t Lair, p. 167.  Fodere, vol. 3, p. 205.
VOL. II.              12 
 90            PERSONS FOUND DEAD.

   The  distinction  then between  these cases, if we
 allow their possibility (and I cannot well sec  how
 we can avoid this) and ordinary combustion, is, that
 in the latter, if the body be  not  wholly consumed,
 there will be redness, blisters, scars,  &c. on various
 parts.  The combustion will be incomplete, particu-
 larly as to the bones, and it will extend itself more
 certainly to neighbouring substances—it is evidently,
 also slower in producing its effects.*

      9.  Of persons found dead from hunger.
  The crime of permitting or  causing individuals to
 die from hunger,  is no doubt rare  in  civilized coun-
 tries.  Iustances have however happened, and an ac-
 count of the  appearances observed after  death, is
 therefore proper.
  The body is much  emaciated, and  a  foetid, acrid
 odour exhales from it, although death may have been
 very recent.   The eyes are red and open.   This ap-
 pearance is uncommon from other causes  of death.
 The tongue and throat are dry, even to aridity,  and
 the stomach and intestines are  contracted and empty.
 This last mark has been repeatedly noticed.   Haller
 dissected the body of a person who destroyed himself
 by hunger,  and found the organs in question entirely
 empty.   Not  the least  vestige of feces was  to be
 seen  in  the intestines.  The  gallbladder is  puffed
 with bile, and this fluid is found scattered  over  the
 stomach  and intestines,  so as to tinge  them very ex-
 tensively.  The lungs are withered, but all the other
 organs are generally in  a healthy  state.  The blood
 vessels are usually empty.
  There is considerable variety as to the rapidity of
 putrefaction in these cases.   With many, it occurs to
 a high degree, immediaiely  after death, while with
 others, it is delayed longer than in ordinary cases.!

 * Belloc, p. 195.
 t Fodcie, vol. 2, p. 276  Ibid. vol.3, p.231 to  239.  These appearances
arc confirmed by the observations of Morgagni, lledi, Valsalva, and Haller,
as quoted by our author. There is also a case mentioned ia  the London 
PERSONS FOUND DEAD.
91
   We may remark that several of the signs as  now
related, are characteristic and distinct from those oc-
curring  from other causes of violent death,  and  I
would particularly refer to the healthy state of parti-
cular  organs, the peculiar redness of the eyes,  the
state of  the stomach and intestines,  and the great se-
cretion of bile.
   In 1768,  the daughter of a notary at Nevers, in
France, aged fifteen, died of an unknown  disease.
She had been already buried,  when it was rumoured
abroad that  her father had caused her death by hun-
ger in a cellar.  The information laid before the judge
was of such a nature, that he directed the arrest of the
parent, and the disinterment of the body.  This was
twenty-four hours after the burial.   The report of the
medical examiners was as follows :
   The  whole body is extremely emaciated-   The
skin is very thin,  and its colour livid—an unpleas-
ant  odour i9 exhaled—the eyes are open and red—
contusions and excoriations appear on various parts of
the body—and the anus and vagina arc  covered with
small white worms in great quantity, and these parts,
and particularly the first,  are much excoriated  and
dilated.   On opening the body, the stomach was seen
in a healthy state, containing a wine glass full of serous,
greenish bile—the pylorus  was contracted—the duo-
denum,  together  with the right  side of the ileon and
jejunum, was inflamed—the gall-bladder was swelled
with bile, and the intestines were entirely empty. The
remainder of the viscera,  together with  those of  the
thorax and head, were in a healthy state, except that
the  right lung was a  little withered.   The  report
concluded by giving an opinion, that the girl had died
in a state of extreme weakness  and  languor,  but it
assigned no cause for it.

Med. and Phys.  Journal, vol. 15, p. 510, of death from spontaneous absti-
nence, which occurred under the observation of Dr. Desgeneltes at Paris,
where the appearances on dissection were nearly precisely similar to those
mentioned above, except that the lungs were sound. The stomach was re-
duced to a fourth of its natural size.  The gall-bladder was distended with
bite, and (he duodenum, and other smaller intestines, were filled  with that
ftuid. 
92
PERSONS FOUND DEAD.
  Public opinion continued  to implicate the parents,
and they sought a defender in the celebrated Petit,
from whom an answer to the following questions was
requested : 1. Whether the facts stated above were
sufficient to prove that the child  died  from hunger ?
2. Whether  there was  any circumstance to indicate
that a length of  time had elapsed between the death
and burial ? To  both of these, he answered in the ne-
gative, and for the following reasons :  Extreme ema-
ciation is rather a  proof of long illness, than of star-
vation, because it is very common for persons of a to-
lerable degree of  fatness,  when they refuse food, to
die before they lose much flesh.  The emptiness of
the intestines was more indicative of colliquative di-
arrhcea from long disease, than  of any other  cause.
The state of  the gall-bladder proved, (in Petit's opi-
nion) nothing on one side or the other, nor did the ex-
coriations,  while the natural state of the stomach was
an  argument against death  by famine,  since in such
cases, that organ is observed to  be much contracted.
Finally, the worms might  have been  present in  the
parts for some time before death, nor was the smell of
the body by any means so offensive as  to indicate pu-
tridity of long standing.  On these grounds, though  1
unwilling to assign a cause of death, he was decided-
ly of  opinion that famine had not induced the fatal
termination.
   It is  impossible to read this opinion, and compare
it with  the observations of able anatomists on persons
known to have died  from hunger,  without agreeing
with Fodere, that Petit  appears rather as the advo-
cate of the- accused, than the partial  investigator of
truth.
   On the trial,  it was conclusively proved, that the
parents had been guilty of mal-treatment, and though
after the opinion of  Petit, their lives could not be af-
fected,  yet the father was sentenced to the gallies for
life, and the mother  to perpetual banishment.*
t Fodere, vol. 3, p. 223 to 231 
CHAPTER II.
          WOUNDS  ON THE  LIVING  BODY.

i. Of wounds in general—duration of them—slight—dangerous, and mortal.
  Notice of each.  Circumstances which may aggravate the danger of
  wounds—The age and constitution of the patient, and his maladies—his
  passions—negligence or delay—insalubrity of the atmosphere—ignorance
  or unskilfulness of the surgeon.  2. Nature and prognostics of wounds of
  particular parts—Wounds of the head—of the face—of the neck—of the
  thorax__of the abdomen—of the extremities.  Laws as to the time within
  which death from wounds is deemed murder. 3. Of mutilation—French
  laws against it—English—American—English Coventry act. Cases un-
  der it.

   It has been already stated,  but it is proper  to  re-
peat in this place,  that the term wound, in legal me-
dicine, comprehends all lesions of the body,  and in
this it  differs from the  meaning of the word when
used in surgery.  The latter only refers to a solution
of continuity,  while the former comprises not only
these, but also every other kind  of accident, such as
bruises, contusions,  fractures, dislocations, &c.  &c.
In this sense then the term is to be understood  in  our
future remarks.*
   The  questions which arise in all cases of wounds
that come under judicial investigation, are the follow-
ing :  How far has the person  who caused the  injury,
contributed to the death of the deceased,  or  to the
 lesion  of  one or other of  the functions of  the body ?
 And again, to what class is a certain  wound to be re-
 ferred?  These  are  enquiries of great magnitude—
 and  correct  views,  as  well as stable principles, are
 needed in order to answer them properly.   Medical
 and surgical  works  are filled with instances of re-
 markable recoveries from the  most dreadful wounds,
 and also with  cases of death  from  apparently the
  slightest ones.   If we take these as  our  guide, the

   * Ballard, however, objects to this, and recommends the word lesion, for
 the general term. Page 313. 
94                  WOUNDS.
consequence will be, that nothing of a determinate
nature can be  agreed  upon,  and every  physician,
whenever he enters a court of justice, may, by the aid
of a corresponding example, prove that a  dangerous
wound is not so, and that its fatality has been owing
to ignorance or neglect.   Such power is too extensive
and too important to be granted to every medical wit-
ness, and  whatever we take from his hands,  and re-
fer to sound principles  and general rules, is a solid
gain to the cause of truth and justice.
  In further proceeding with my observations, I shall
in the first place, notice the subject of wounds in ge-
neral,  and afterwards  examine the  nature and prog-
nostics of wounds of particular parts.  The subject
of mutilation, from its entering so much into our sta-
tute law, will form a third section.

             1.  Of wounds in general.
  Wounds, from their nature, may be either slight,
dangerous, or mortal.  By  a slight wound, is meant
one  in which there are no parts injured that are  im-
portant to carrying  on life,  or any of its  functions,
and  whose uniform course is to heal  quickly,  and to
leave no lesion or deformity.   A dangerous one, im-
plies a wound which, without being mortal, is still
not exempt from danger,  and  presents more  or less
difficulty in its  cure.  Lastly, mortal wounds com-
prehend those whose consequence and effect is death.
In this sense only is a wound in legal medicine term-
ed mortal.  More minute divisions than these which
I have named, may, however, be made, and indeed
arc indispensable.   Thus, a wound  may be  in itself
mortal, or it may be mortal  by accident.   It may be
in itself dangerous, or it may become so from some
complication, or from not having been properly treat-
ed.  Even slight wounds  may become dangerous
from neglect, from  a debilitated or diseased  state of
the system, or from mal-treatment, such as endeavour-
ing to excite suppuration, when the aim ought to be
to promote adhesion. In such cases, the blame should
be laid where it properly belongs. 
WOUNDS.                   95
  Circumstances as well as accident have a consider*
able effect on wounds.   Bohu suggests several in-
stances of this nature, in which their mortality is pre-
vented by particular phenomena.   Thus, a small
portion of  the omentum, or the  fat of the intestine,
may so place itself in the mouth of a wounded blood-
vessel in the  abdomen,  as to prevent  a haemorrhage,
while,  if not thus obstructed, it  would be mortal.*
Again, it has been repeatedly observed by surgeons,
that there may be such  an adhesion of the pleura to
the lungs,  as that the  blood or pus from the latter
will flow outwardly, when they have been injured by
a penetrating wound.  The same author  remarks,
that it  has never been demonstrated,  and  indeed in
the nature of things it  never can be  proved, that a
wound from  which there is a recovery, is precisely"
similar to one which has proved  fatal,  although ex-
ternally  they may be similar in every respect.   In
the one case,* there can be no dissection to prove its
nature, and in the other, there may have been many
peculiar circumstances not attendant on the former.!
This observation is in itself a sufficient answer to the
argument already  referred to,  of proving the possibi-
lity of recovery from dangerous  wounds, by a refer-
ence to similar instances.
  The subject  may be farther illustrated by exam-
ples.   A man,  says Bohu,  receives a wound in the
bottom of his stomach, a severe hiccup, faintings and
retchings come on, while the half digested food that
he has taken, passes out through  the aperture.   This
individual  is, however,  cured  in a month's  time,
whilst another, whose wound is accompanied with
similar  symptoms, except that he does not  hiccup,
and which in itself  is a favorable symptom,  dies in
three days.   Shall we say that the  latter was  not

  * Bohn, p. 31.  He mentions a dissection, in which the right illiac artery
was found wounded, and life had been prolonged for thirteen days, evident-
ly from this cause.
  t Bohn, p. 27  " Dubium an vulnus sanatum exacte idem cum non sanate
/uerit " 
£6
WOUNDS.
 mortally wounded, because the former escaped? His
 section will teach us the incorrectness of this deduc-
 tion, and that in the instance of mortality, the wound
 has been rather  lateral than deep, and  has touched
 the left gastric artery, in consequence of which, there
 has been a profuse  haemorrhage into the abdominal
 cavity.  Again, an individual receives a violent blow
 on the head, which causes a depression of the crani-
 um, and is accompanied with a considerable haemor-
 rhage from the head and ear,  and a loss of sense and
 motion.  After a day or two,  the depressed piece of
 bone is raised,  he recovers his senses, the haemor-
 rhage ceases, and at the end of some weeks, the pa-
 tient recovers.  Another is  injured in precisely the
 same manner, is treated similarly, and notwithstandr
 ing, dies at the end of the seventh day,  without ever
 recovering from the state of coma, and on dissection,
 extravasated blood is found in the ventricles  of  the
 brain.*                               *
   These instant* are snffv-Tent to prove, how little
 dependence is to  be placeo on analogy, and they also
 iV..*lrate  <he h* ortance of fixed rules  concerning
 ;.he *AoiL..i»%, oi wounds, luuii^ea exclusively on an-
 atomical and physiological data.
   A strict  definition of life is not necessary at this
 time, and it is sufficient to state, that it depends on the
 union and reciprocal influence of the functions which
 compose it, and particularly of the circulating, nerv-
 ous and respiratory systems.  Lesions of the chylo-
 poetic system come next in order, as the body cannot
 survive without nourishment, and the danger to  life
 will of course lu  \-\ proportion to the extent of the in-
jury, and  the  an mediate  necessity of  the  organ.
 Wounds which rupture the large blood vessels in one
 er other of the large cavities, such as  the head, the
 thorax, or the ab?omen ; those which penetrate the
 auricles or  venti > !es of the heart, the trunk of the aor-
 ta, or vena cava,  are irrecoverably mortal.   There
' Bohn, p. 28, 29. 
wounds.                  97
are, however, so many cases on record, in which in-
dividuals are stated  to have survived for some time,
with large abscesses in the brain, or even a ball in
that  part, that we are justified in viewing wounds of
the heart more fatal than those of the head.   Next to
these are wounds, which, from their depth, penetrate
into the spinal marrow—wounds of the head, compli-
cated with such severe injury,  that  venesection and
the trephine do not alleviate  them—a division or
twisting of the spinal marrow in  the  cervical verte-
brae—a division of the eight pair of nerves—and a ge-
neral affection of the nervous system from blows or
injuries on parts, which are the centre of its various
departments, such as the  pit of the stomach.   In the
next place, may be mentioned as mortal  wounds,
such as prevent the function of respiration—a total
division, or a large wound of the trachea ;  and parti-
cularly, if in the latter case, the underlipof the  wound
is retracted inwards—wounds penetrating through the
bronchiae, and wounds of the diaphragm, particularly
of its  tendinous portion.   To this class belong also,
extensive  wounds of the pharynx, aesophagus, and
stomach—of the duodenum, thoracic duct, and me-
sentery,  and particularly, if a large number  of the
lacteals be divided,  together with severe wounds of
the liver, spleen, pancreas, gall-bladder, and the duc-
tus cysticus and  choledicus.   Wounds of the urinary
passages, kidneys, ureters, bladder, impregnated ute-
rus and amputation of the male genital organs,  are all
ordinarily mortal,  unless immediate aid be afforded,
as are also extensive and penetrating ones from fire
arms accompanied with fracture Of bones.
   All these accidents, from the importance of  the or-
gans that  are injured-~-the extravasations that occur,
or the  haemorrhage  which  accompanies them, and
which  it  is often impossible to check, are usually
mortal.  Such,  however, are the powers  of nature,
and so extensive are its resources^ that hope  should
seldom be abandoned.  If called upon to make an
    vol. n.              13 
98                   wounds.
immediate report, it  is proper to form a prognostic
on these principles, and to mention the danger that is
present.   On the  trial, however, the conviction must
be decidedly stated, that the wound was  a mortal
one,  and that no surgical aid could have saved the pa-
tient^ or when applied, had no beneficial effect.
  Among dangerous  wounds, or those concerning
which we cannot give a decided prognostic, must be
ranked such as  are inflicted on organs essential to the
exercise of the vital, natural, or  animal functions  ;
and as to their consequences, they may be divided in-
to those which may become mortal, and those  which
may interrupt the exercise of  any function. To the
first class belong  all penetrating wounds, though un-
accompanied with symptoms that indicate immediate
danger—all contused wounds, whether on  the head,
thorax or abdomen—all wounds of the extremities,
and  particularly where surgical aid cannot be pro-
cured in time to suppress haemorrhage, and  all  com-
pound fractures and luxations, particularly if the part
be much  surrounded by nerves and muscles, and if
it be near a joint.  Even simple contusions or  blows
may become  dangerous, from a rapid disorganization
of parts,  and a consequent mortification; and  espe-
cially, if, on tendinous or ligamentous parts, the  su-
pervention of tetanic affections are to be dreaded.
   In the second class are included all wounds made
in any of the secretory organs  and their ducts—in the
 organs  of sense,  as the eye, ear, nose and mouth—
in the generative organs, as the testicles,  penis and
unimpregnated uterus.  Also, fractures of the clavi-
 cle or sternum  and depression of the xiphoid or ensi-
form cartilage—transverse wounds of the great pec-
 toral or dorsal  muscles—#nd wounds of the muscles
of the abdomen, particularly near the linea  alba, and
pubis—wounds of the perineum combined with inju-
 ry to the  canal of the urethra, pricking of the tendons
 of muscles, together with wounds of important branch-  *-
 es of nerves.
   Slight wounds comprehend those injuries in which 
WOUNDS.
99
the skin and the muscles are divided, the latter in the
direction of  their fibres, and where  no tendon, apo-
neurosis, large nerves,  or blood vessels are touched
and the system has not received a severe shock.   To
this class, also belong simple luxations and fractures.
   But, as we have already observed, thesfe are  cir-
cumstances  which render this  division  an arbitrary
one, and which cause a mortal wound of the lowest
class to be inevitably mortal—a dangerous one to be-
come  mortal—and a  slight one, dangerous.  These
circumstances may be reduced into four classes, each
of which deserve particular notice.
   1. The constitution and age of the patient, and his
antecedent or  coexistent maladies may exercise a
baleful influence on the injury received.  Thus,  for
example, there may be a complete  transposition of
parts—the heart is sometimes found on the right side
of the  thorax—the spleen  has been discovered to oc-
cupy the place of the liver—the stomach has descend-
ed as low or even lower than the umbilical region,
while  the bladder has risen into  the abdomen.  It
would certainly be unjust, except in cases of premedi-
tated murder, to consider the criminal as responsible
for the fatality of  wounds given under such circum-
stances.   Again,  an individual may  be suffering un-
der hernia,  and in that situation, may receive a mor-
tal wound from a cutting instrument,  or may die from
a contusiou or blow on  the part,  which under other
circumstances  would  not  prove dangerous.*   The
condition of the wounded person may also be render-
ed hazardous from a  variation in the  ordinary distri-
bution of blood vessels—from  the presence of aneu-
rism—from an extreme thinness of the bones of the
cranium! °r a venereal caries of the same part—from

  * Bohn, p. 70,71.
  I- A remarkable case of this description is stated in  a late journal.  A re-
spectable individual put an end to his existence by hanging himself. Dr.
Wesener was directed by the proper officers to examine the body. The
examinatio > of the thorax and abdomen presented nothing beyond what is
usually observed in such cases, but on opening the head, he found the fol-
lowing deviation from nature.  About the middle of the sagittal suture, the 
100
WOUNDS.
having large umbilical vessels, or finally, from being

afflicted with some chronic disease, or suffering under

debility.   Slight wounds may also be rendered dan-

gerous,  and even mortal, from an extreme irritability

of the nervous system, from previous  habits of drunk-

enness,  or from a scorbutic,  cancerous, cachectic or

venereal habit.*  A case is  thus  cited by Bohn, of

an individual who in a quarrel,  received some blows

on the chest,  and after a short time,  was seized with

haemoptysis, severe pain in the side, delirium and con-

vulsions,  and finally died.    On  inspection,  a slight

discoloration  was  observed  on the  back and limbs,

while the  genital organs were in a state approaching

gangrene.   The abdominal  viscera were  healthy,

but the  lungs and  pleura  adhered,  and the  former

were  filled with thickened pus.!  In  this instance,

there  was  certainly  sufficient   of  disease present,

to have produced  death within  a very  short  peri-

od, without the intervention  of the  blows.   All the

possible circumstances enumerated above, should be

kept in  view,  and particularly,  when wounds have

been  involuntary,  or  belong to  what  is termed in

law, manslaughter.!


bones of the cranium were, for the space  of a sixpence, as thin as the  most
delicate  lamella of bone, and in this spot were two openings, each about
the size  of a pin's head, through which two vessels  ran,  which arose  from
the superficial veins of the dura mater, and anastamosed with the veins of
the scalp.  On cutting into the scalp, though with great care, the blood
flowed over the galea aponeurotica in such quantities as quite to redden it,
and it appeared on  examination, that the emissaria Santorini were cut
through.  It is evident from this statement, that a blow on the spot in ques-
tion would probably have caused death, either by direct depression, or by
causing internal haemorrhage.  Quarterly Journal of Foreign Medicine and
Surgery, vol. 2, p. 105, from Hufeland's Journal.
  * There are some individuals  in whom an alarming haemorrhage is pro-
duced by the slightest abrasion of the skin.  Merger quotes a case of death
produced in this way,by a scratch of the thumb-nail. Several relatives had
previously died in a similar manner, (p.327)   See also the New-England
Journal, vol. 2, p. 221, for some remarkable cases where this disposition
occurred in families.  In the Medico-Chirurgical Transactions, vol.  8, p.
224, a case of fatal haemorrhage from the  extraction of a tooth, is related
by Mr. Blagden.  The coats of the arteries were found, on dissection, very
thin, and nearly transparent.
  t Bohn, p. 76.                                              V
  \ The  most difficult cases probably that occur in the medical jurispru-
dence of wounds, are those where persons in habits of intemperance en
r;age in brawls, receive injuries, and after an uncertain period, die.  The 
WOUNDS.
101
  But it may happen, that while the patient is suffer-

ing under a wound,  he is attacked with disease  and

dies, and the question then arises,* whether this fatali-

ty is owing to the wound, or the disease.  In some in-

stances,  the solution is easy, but in others,  it is at-

tended  with considerable  difficulty.   Thus,  for ex-

ample, a fever attended with comatose symptoms may

supervene on a wound of the head, and pleurisy may

follow a wound of the thorax.   The probability evi-

dently in such instances, is, that the injury has pro-

duced the disease, but there is  notwithstanding, suf-

ficient latitude left for doubt,  and circumstances may
arise,  which  will  prevent us  from   assigning the

wound  as  the  cause of death.   On  the  other hand,

should  gangrene,  buboes, petechia,  or the  other

symptoms  of  malignant  fevers appear on a wounded

person, in a hospital, or during the warm season of the
year, or during the prevalence of such an epidemic,

it would certainly seem that the cause of death is dis-

tinct from  the danger of the wound.   A similar ob-

servation will  apply when an inflammatory or typhus

fever supervenes on slight  wounds, and renders them

fatal.*


question frequently arises, whether the drunkenness or the blow has caused
the loss of life. As a general rule,  I would always lean towards the ac-
cused. The habitual use of spirituous liquors is so apt to produce a dis-
eased state of the system generally, that unless positive malice be  proved,
we shall best promote the ends of justice by  considering the offence as a
secondary one.  A case is related by Dr. Klapp, where  an individual in
Philadelphia, under such circumstances,  died thirty-eight hours after the
affray. He walked and spoke after it, and even drank part of a pint of spi-
rits,but wa« shortlyseized with insensibility,dilated pupils,oppressed breath-
ing, and died without any return of sense.  The bone and the brain beneath
the injured part were examined, and found natural. The mucous membrane of
the cardia and the upper part of the stomach,  was greatly inflamed—the other
parts wera not diseased. Before the court, Drs. Hartshorn and Klapp gave
it as their opinion, that the injury to the head had not been the cause of
death, and that there was no appearance of a blow  on or near the region of
the stomach. I fully agree with the verdict of acquittal in this case, but I
would suggest whether, in some cases of severe injury to the head, a similar
appearance of the stomach may not be produced.  I refer for  an elucida-
tion  of my idea, to Dr. John C. Warren's cases of apoplexy with  dissec-
tions, in the New-England Journal, vol. 1, p. 34. This anatomist has shown,
that not unfrequently a high degree of redness in  the mucous coat of the
stomach, accompanies cerebral affections.  Dr. Klapp's case is related in
the American  Medical Recorder, vol. 1, p. 156.
  * Bohn, p. 83.  This author divides  the symptoms into three classes. 
102                   WOUNDS.
   The following instance,  in which Zacchias was
 consulted, will illustrate the difficulty that may occur.
 During a period  when the plague raged at Rome, one
 Ansovini received, in a quarrel, a wound on the head,
 which denuded  the  bone,  but left  no fracture.   He
 withdrew by the assistance of two friends, one of
 whom continued to visit him,  but died in four days
 thereafter of the plague.  The wound appeared fa-
 vourable for the first three days,  but at the termina-
 tion of  that  period, a fever came on, accompanied
 with headach, bilious vomiting, and violent inflam-
 mation  of the  wounded part.  On the  fourth,  the
 wound was gangrenous, and petechise and buboes oc-
 curred ;  and on the sixth day, death followed.  The
 persou who inflicted  the  wound, was arrested by the
 minister of justice, on the ground that it was the cause
 of death, or at least that it predisposed the individual
 to the attack of the plague.   Zacchias  was consulted
 by the friends of the accused, and he decided that the
 wound had not been the cause of death, because there
 were no  symptoms immediately  after its infliction,
 that indicated a mortal injury to the head—that the
 appearances  which supervened, were too rapid in their
 progress to appertain to  it,  and evidently  belonged
 to the plague, and it was also  evident he  had  taken
 this  disease from the friend who visited him.  Final-
 ly,  two  diseases were present in the individual,  and
 the ordinary course of one is fatal, while that of the
 other is to proceed to a favourable termination.   It is
 certainly proper  to assign the former as the cause of
 death.*
  2. The passions of the patient, and his negligence' '
 or delay, or that  of his attendants, may render slight
 wounds dangerous, and dangerous  ones mortal. This
 may happen,  1. By  his  obstinate  refusal to undergo

 ' Alia ex vulnere ipso, ut tali, hanc a parte lcesa immediate  emergant; alia
 aham extra vulnus causam agnoscant; alia indifferenter se  habeant, id est,
cnodo  a vulnere, modo aliunde eveniant: probe  omnes ac  singulae ponde-  *
randas sunt  in vulnerato circumstantial, et ex  harum deinum collatione,
eujus generis sint ilia individui presentis,prudenterinferendum."
  *2acchias. Consilium, No. 74. 
WOUNDS.                 10-3
the proper treatment, either  from fear or some other
cause.   2.  From errors in regimen, such as intem-
perance, from exposure in a very cold or a very warm
place, or from giving himself up to the free indulgence
of his passions.  3. By disobeying the directions of
his physicians,  as  for example, if a  man who has
been wounded in the throat,  should laugh, talk or
sing.   4. By yielding to anger or fear, so far as to
tear off the bandages  and dressings of the wound.
All these circumstances will aggravate an injury, and
render it dangerous or mortal.*  There are others,
which  may be deemed  accidental causes, such as a
want of proper aid, of  whatever kind it may be, and
from whatever source it may arise.  Both of these of
course increase the guilt of the criminal, if it can be
proved that he inflicted the wound with a knowledge
of them.   To this class also belong  every obstacle
opposed to the  surgeon's performance of his duty,
and all attempts to disturb the patient, such as the
prevention of sleep, and producing agitation  of mind.
   3. Insalubrity of the atmosphere, whether it be of
a local nature, or the general constitution, may render
slight  wounds dangerous, and dangerous ones mortal.
This circumstance  has been  noticed some centuries
since,  and  the experience of every military campaign
confirms its correctness.   Thus,  according to Bohn,
Sebezius  states  that wounds  of the head were more
readily cured  in Italy  and Spain, than in Germany,
and h odere mentions  his having observed the same
on the coast of  the Mediterranean,  when compared
with Paris.  Ambrose Pare, a great name in surgery,
observes, that at the siege of Rouen, many of the be-
 siegers died of small and  simple wounds, in conse-
 quence of the unhealthy atmosphere, but which  was
attributed  by the army  to  poisoned  weapons—an
idea, which similar effects induced the  inhabitants of
that city also to  harbour.!
   Severe  cold,  excessive heat, storms of rain, snow
* Mahon, vol. 2, p. 28.
t Bohn, p. 78.  FodcrS, vol. 3. p. 276. 
104
WOUNDS.
 or hail, have all been observed to increase the danger
 of wounds, and for proofs of this, I need only to re-
 fer to works on military surgery.
   The air of large hospitals has also been found in-
 jurious, and it  is constantly observed,  that a larger
 proportion die of wounds at the Hotel Dieu at Paris,
 than in the hospital de la Charitc.*  The very name
 of Hospital Gangrene, is sufficient to apprise us of the
 extent of the fatality that is sometimes experienced.
 In such cases, it is the duty of the medical examiner
 to apply the maxim of Hippocrates, that every thing
 which happens  to the injured person*contrary to cor-
 rect probability, does not belong to wfe essence of the
 disease.  Thus, if there is a general or local morbid
 state of the air, and the  most cautious examination
 proves  that the wound had not affected any essential
 organ,  it is his duty to state these facts, and to men-
 tion that death has originated from several causes, of
 which the wound is the slightest, although  it may
 have excited the developement of the others.
   4.  The ignorance or negligence of  the  surgeon
 may  aggravate or endanger  the condition  of  a
 wounded  patient.!  This happens when futile or in-
jurious medicines or applications have been  used—
 when the instruments employed are in  bad order—
 when the surgeon is either ignorant or rash—or when
 seeing the danger, he does not obtain the aid of skil-
 ful persons.   In general,  when  a dissection proves
 that no wound mortal in its nature, has been  receiv-
 ed,  and when  none of the circumstances  already
 enumerated, can be urged as causing its fatality,  the
 death of the patient should be attributed to the surgi-
 cal attendant, rather than to the author of the wound,
 provided that it  be proved that he neglected the sick
 person,  or maltreated him, by leaving foreign bodies
 in the wound, which might have been taken away—
 by not suppressing haemorrhage—by not evacuating

  * Mahon, vol. 2, p.25.  " Dans certain hopitaux, et notamment a ITIotel
 Dieu de Paris, le trepan est presque toujotirs mortel."  Metzger, p. 376.
  t Bohn, p. 93,96. 
WOUNDS.                   105
collections  of pus  when  necessary—by employing
tents improperly—by neglecting  or hurrying  opera-
tions—or by  not causing  the proper  regimen to  be
observed.*
   Notwithstanding the  distinctions  that  have  now
been made, there are some doubtful and complicated
cases, concerning which,  great difference of opinion
may arise,  and  the skill of  the surgeon often forms
the  disputed  point.  To  this class most commonly
belong wounds of the head, such as those, for exam-
ple, in which there are no symptoms indicating the
necessity  of trepanning,  and yet  extravasation  is
found  after death.  The diversity of advice given by
eminent surgeons on this point during the last twenty
or thirty years,  may also lead to unpleasant  discus-
sions.   But it is the  duty of the surgeon to acquaint
himself  with the most  approved modes  of modern
practice—to apply them to the symptoms presented to
his view, an 1 then, if  on examination  the injury is
found to be such that no efforts of art could have pre-
vented its fatality, the death of the patient is to be at-
tributed to the nature of his wound.!

2.  Of the nature and prognostics of wounds of par-
                    ticular parts.
   I shall endeavour to make this section  as concise
as  possible,  as  it is  only intended to  be a general
guide to the medical examiner.   The  opinions dedu-
cible from it,  are subject  to many qualifications,
which the peculiarities of  every  case  can aloue indi-
cate, and they are evidently not to be quoted  as uni-
versally applicable.

  * The laws at a very early period attended to this circumstance.  In the
Roman code, the Lex Aquilia declared, " Si verberatus  fuerit servus, non
mortifere, negligentia  autem perierit de vulnerato actio erit, non de occi-
so.'  So also in the ancient French jurisprudence.  If negligence or bad
treatment was proved, it freed the individual, unless premeditated design
was established. Fodere, vol. 3,  p. 290, 291.  The same principle practi-
cally exists in our own judicial determinations.
  f The principal authority used in this section, is Bohn—De Renunc. Vul-
ner. in genere.  Fodere (vol. 2, p. 251 to 294,) and Mahon's (vol. 2, p. 1 to
62) observations, are generally derived from this source.
     VOL. II.               H 
106
WOUNDS.
   We shall notice wounds of the  head in the first
place; and here a preliminary remark cannot too soon
be made, or enforced, viz. that in no other part  is the
prognostic more uncertain,  nor is there one in which
the physician has more occasion for suspending his
judgment.  The general prognostic of wounds of the
head depends on  the nature of the injured parts—the
age and condition of the patient—the nature of the in-
strument with which the wound has been inflicted—
the force or violence used—the manner in which it wa-
applied, and the effects that followed.
   A wound of the integuments of the cranium,  if in-
flicted with a cutting instrument, such as a knife or
razor, may be deemed a simple wound, which will
heal w ithin the space of a few days.  But if the in-
strument,  although a cutting one, is of great  weight,
and  has been projected by a strong arm, we should
reserve our prognostic, on account of the subsequent
affection of the brain,  which may justly be dreaded.
If a  sharp  pointed instrument has been used,  and it
has penetrated as far  as the bone,  the inflammation
and pain that follow, are more severe than from incis-
ed wounds.   When a contused  wound has  been in-
flicted,  as by  a stick or stone, the prognostic will de-
pend much on the immediate symptoms, and it will
be dangerous in proportion to the dizziness, nausea,
insensibility,  &c.  that are  experienced for a  short
time thereafter.   A  superficial contusion, accompa-
nied with laceration and none of the above symptoms,
may  generally be deemed a slight  wound.  But a
contusion however slight on the region of the temporal
muscles is scarcely ever exempt  from danger,  on ac-
count of the intimate connection of this part with the
brain, by means of its nerves, blood vessels and mem-
branes.
   Wounds of the  pericranium in good constitutions
and  well treated, are not dangerous, but in bad ones,
they  are often serious and are succeeded by an ery-
sipelatous inflammation,  which  is readily  extended
to the brain.   A complete division of the pericranium 
WOUNDS.
10"
is  much less to be dreaded,  than a wound  from a
sharp pointed instrument.  Tn  venereal patients, ca-
ries of the bone is a frequent consequence of such in-
juries.
   Fracture of  the  bones of the cranium  may  take
place without any correspondent injury of the integu-
ments, and the symptoms in such cases  are extremely
equivocal and deceitful.   Our deduction must how-
ever be drawn  from the circumstances that immedi-
ately followed the infliction of the wound—from those
that afterwards supervene, and from a consideration
of the causes producing them.  Among the  first are
vertigo,  loss  of sense  and motion, vomiting,  and
bleeding from the nose and ears.  Among the latter,
may he coma, convulsions and paralysis.  Fracture
may however occur without  any of these being pres-
ent,  and again, they may all be present, without any
fracture,  and result from concussion of the brain.  It
should be remembered,   that  fracture accompanied
with depression of the bone,  is usually more danger-
ous  than when none is present.
   Concussion of the brain is  always  dangerous,  as
are also all wounds of the brain and its membranes.
On these it is not necessary to enlarge at this time.
It is however proper to remark,  that the prognostic
of wounds of  the head, is for the most part, that they
are  dangerous, and require  the  strictest  attention.
And this  is rendered more necessary,  since it has of-
ten happened that injurious and even fatal consequen-
ces have been produced long after the infliction of the
injury, and that too,  where the immediate symptoms
have given little or no reason for such a termination.*

  " The succeeding case will illustrate the difficulties that sometimes
envelope the cause of death.  ' A woman received a blow on the head
from  a laundress's iron, but no fracture or injury of the cranium was
discoverable, though it  was thereby laid bare.  She was (by the advice
of the celebrated Cheselden) trepanned, and still no mark of injury about
the cranium was discovered. She went abroad, and followed her ordinary
business for a fortnight afterwards ; but at the end of twenty days from re-
ceiving the injury, died.  On opening the head, they found a very large im-
posthume in the  middle of the brain. This occasioned some perplexity 
108
WOUNDS.
The opinion of the medical examiner,  must therefor<

be founded not only on general principles, but on the

symptoms  that are present,  and when called  into a

court of justice,  he should explain  how uncertain the

recovery from sucli injuries always  is, and on the oth-

er hand, that persons have survived the most terrible

accidents.   The  presence or absence of fever, or deli-

rium or coma, and the healthy or livid appearance of

the  wound,  all  aid  in  determining  on the danger.

The following  aphorisms  of  the  illustrious  Vicq

d'Azyr, are quoted by French surgeons as comprising

the  experience of  the art on  these points,  and they

are  evidently deserving of remembrance.   1.  That

the largest  wounds  of the head are  not always the

most dangerous.   2.  That it  is possible to lose a con-

siderable quantity of  the brain,  without death  ensu-

ing.   3. That the slightest injuries are often succeed-

ed by fatal  consequences, and that hence they should

in no case  be neglected.   4.  That a contusion  of the

bone  alone may gradually  extend itself,  so  as to
affect the brain.*


about the  real  cause of death.  The surgeon who  had managed the case,
was rather inclined to attribute the death to the blow, but would by no
means deny that it might have proceeded from  some inward cause.  The
deceased had been subject to frequent and severe headachs, before the acci-
dent  occurred.  Mr. Chcbelden being examined on the trial, declared that
he could not conceive how  a blow should be the cause of death, where
there was no extravasation,  and the person could go about for a fortnight
afterwards.  His allowing, however,  that similar appearances were some-
limes found in the brain of persons subject to headachs,  was of more import-
ance to the prisoner."  Smith, p. 246.
  The following is one  among a thousand instances where death has been
induced at distant periods from the infliction of violence on the head.  The
patient died several weeks after receiving the injury, and on dissection, Mr.
Charles Bell discovered a fracture at the base of the skull ;  and the fora-
men magnum having been thereby roughened,  a sudden turn of the head
had forced  a spiculum  of bone into the spinal marrow.  (Smith, p. -X>i.)
The principal and important inference to be drawn from such cases is, " the
impropriety of maintaining the general proposition, that the death of per-
sons recovering from the immediate symptoms of  violence, should never be
ascribed to that violence."  Mr. Howship relates a case, where a slight blow
on the head, at  the age of fifteen, produced death forty years afterwards.
Fain  was frequently present during life, and latterly somnolency  and im-
paired vision.  On dissection, the bone at the place injured was seen trans-
parent, and almost wholly absorbed, and  the portion of brain  under it was
indurated and schirrous.  New-England Journal, vol. 9, p. 403.
  * Fodere, vol. 3, p. 312.  I must be permitted in this place to caution the
young surgeon, not to use the trepan, without a due regard to the rules laid 
                     WOUNDS.                   109

   Wounds of the face are more or less dangerous, ac-
cording to the part injured,  but in considering these,
it is also necessary to take into account the deformity
and irregular cicatrices that  follow them.   The latter
circumstances have been noticed in the jurisprudence
of England and our own country, as we shall state in
the succeeding section.
   Superficial wounds  of the face are easily healed,
but when deep, and  attended with much  loss of sub-
stance or  denuding of the bones, they are  tedious, and
leave considerable deformity.   Wounds  of the fore-
head, in which the frontal muscles  are divided trans-
versely,  or of  the eyebrows, cause the  upper  eyelid
to fall down, and may produce  a  lasting debility of
the parts.  Wounds  of the eyes, when of  considerable
extent, must always be deemed dangerous, from the
nature of that organ, and from the intimate connection
between it and the brain.    A  wound with a  sharp-
pointed instrument,  has been known to pass through
the orbit, and prove fatal.   Wounds of  the transpa-
rent cornea always leave a scar, and intercept vision.
 Wounds  of the iris  cause a loss of sight,  and if the
instrument penetrates to the vitreous humour, the eye
is  left empty,  thus combining blindness with deform-
ity.   Wounds  of the nose, from a cutting instrument,
leave  great deformity,  and particularly if the cartila-
ginous part be  injured—if inflicted  with  around in-
strument, or by a blow, it may not only be crushed,
but the sense of  smell  may be destroyed.  The eth-
moid  bone  has  been  driven  in this way upon the
brain.* Lastly, a sharp-pointed instrument has some-
times  penetrated the  nose, touched  the  brain, and

 down in surgical works. He may otherwise be injured in his reputation
 before a court of justice, and his practice may be condemned by those who
 are better informed. " There can be only one genuine  reason for trepan-
 ning, viz. to remove such pressure from the surlace of the brain as gives
rise to existing bad symptoms."  Cooper.
   * " \ man was killed by a blow on  the nose—the consequence of which
 in the interim, was, that the lower jaw could not be opened, and in the opi-
nion of the surgeon, he  died from inanition, sixteen days after the accident.
 He was also unable to  perform the usual natural evacuations.  There was
 no fracture about the head, and the external wound had  nearly healed up."'
 Smith, p. 254. 
110
WOUNDS.
 hence proved fatal;  Wounds of the external ear ar£
 unaccompanied  with danger,  but the deformity is  a
 serious one.   Wounds of the internal ear may either
 destroy hearing, or from their vicinity to the brain,
 prove in themselves dangerous.   Wounds ofthe lips,
 if there be great loss of "substance, not  only deform,
 but  are injurious  to the speech, and are sometimes
 accompanied with a constant flow of saliva, particu-
 larly when any of  the  glands  have  been opened.
 Wounds of the ranular artery sometimes occur in
 children, from dividing the  frcenum, and where the
 haemorrhage  cannot  be suppressed, they have been
 known to prove fatal.  Wounds of the parotid gland
 are always tedious in curing, and they sometimes be-
 come fistulous.
   In all cases of wounds of the face, the physician
 should state in his report, the degree  of deformity
 that has been produced.
   Wounds of the neck also  vary greatly as to their
 danger.  Wounds of the integuments and muscles of
 the neck,  may be considered simple  wounds, but it
 must be added, that they generally heal with difficult
 ty, in consequence of the mobility and  looseness of
 the parts.   Transverse cuts  may indeed prove  dan-
 gerous, and affect the motions of the head,  or of the
 pharynx or larynx, and thus prove an impediment to
 the  due exercise  either  of  speech  or  deglutition.
 Wounds of the carotids  and  internal  jugulars, are
 generally fatal, since it is often impossible to procure
 the necessary assistance in time  to check the  mortal
 hemorrhage, and for this reason lacerated wounds of
these parts  are  not  so  soon fatal  as  clean  cuts.
AVrounds of the pharynx and oesophagus are pecu-
liarly dangerous,  as  other important parts are gene-
 rally divided  along with  them,  but even if injured
 alone, as  from stabs or gun-shot wounds,  they are
much to be dreaded,  since the  nourishment  of the
 system must be carried  on through them,  and the ac-
tion of deglutition is directly  opposed to a speedy ad-
hesion of parts.   Even wounds of  a portion  of the 
WOUNDS.
ill
fibres surrounding the oesophagus, are dangerous, in-
asmuch as  they  induce a weakness of the action of
deglutition, and also by the inflammation that some-
times supervenes, tend to induce compression on the
trachea.   Wounds of the larynx are serious injuries,
as  they derange or weaken the voice.  A wound of
the recurrent nerve alone  on one side,  seriously af-
fects  this organ, but if both  be divided,  a  complete
muteness will follow.   Injuries of this  description,
however, if not of  a complicated nature, cannot be
considered  mortal.  Penetrating wounds of the  tra-
chea  are always  dangerous,  since from its  never be-
ing in  a perfectly quiet state, it is difficult to produce
a speedy reunion.*  Numerous cases,  however, prove
that a partial transverse division is  not mortal,  but it
is allowed  that a complete division is generally so—
more, however, from the vessels that must be divided
to  accomplish this,  than  from  the injury itself.-j-
Wounds of the par  vagum, either on  one or  both
sides, are absolutely fatal.   Fractures of the cervical
vertebrae are highly dangerous, and if the spinal mar-
row be injured, they are fatal.! Luxation ofthe neck
is generally  fatal,  from  pressure  on the same part.
Wounds piercing the  vertebrae, or passing  between
them,  are  suddenly  mortal.  Injuries  of  the neck
from  contusion,  are always  dangerous,  and should
they end in death, must be judged of by the appear-
ances that  are found  on dissection,  as  extravasated
blood, laceration, &c.
   Wounds of the thorax are  divided  into external

  * A fatal case of rupture of the trachea by external violence, (a kick,) is
mentioned in the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal, vol. 18, p. 412.
  t There are, however, cases mentioned by surgical writers, in which the
trachea was completely cut asunder, and even Uie cesophagus opened,
without any wound of the carotid artery.  See Dorsey's Surgery, vol. 1,
p. 69.  A case is also given in the Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, (vol.
16, p. 353,) in which the trachea and esophagus were divided across, and
which did not terminate fatally, although the parts did not reunite.  This is
a very  interesting narrative.
  X A remarkable case was stated by Soemmering in 1793, of a patient in
whom there was a fracture and luxation of the vertebral column.  He suf-
fered extreme pain, and his extremities gradually became gangrenous—but
he survived Jive months.  Metzger, p. 320. 
112
WOUNDS.
wounds—into  penetrating wounds,  unaccompanied
with  injury to any of the organs in that  cavity, and
into penetrating wounds, with lesions of those organs.
   External wounds from a cutting instrument belong
to the class of simple wounds, but  from contusions or
falls,  may become dangerous,  either through the  ex-
tension of  inflammation to the internal parts, or from
the rupture of some blood vessels.   Fracture of  the ,
ribs, if not complicated with their sharp points prick- ^
ing inwardly, are not absolutely dangerous,  although  .
there  is even then some impediment to  respiration,
and some apprehension of inflammation.  But should •-'.
the rib be much splintered, and the points not be  re- .
ducible, it may end fatally.  Penetrating wounds  are
not in general dangerous, unless combined with frac-
ture of the ribs, or the rupture of some blood-vessels.
Internal hemorrhage or  emphysema is often a dan-
gerous, and even fatal  symptom.   Wounds of the
lungs are dangerous, and the prognostic is always
doubtful  w hen  the  injury has been inflicted at the
upper part of the thorax, or at the posterior side near
the junction of the  ribs  with the  vertebrae.   The
symptoms  here require  the strictest attention,  as  no
case should be despaired of.   These organs are also
subject to concussion, which is termed wind concus-
sion,  and  is usually  fatal.  Fractures,  luxations,  $
and contusions of the vertebral column, are all highly
dangerous, and may sooner or later prove fatal.
  It is difficult  to conceive of the pericardium being
wounded without a correspondent injury of the heart.
But, if separate, it is to be deemed a highly dangerous
wound.   Wounds of the heart, of  its ventricles and
auricles,  are mortal, but it is remarkable,  that nu-
merous cases are on record, where  life has been pro-
longed for  a considerable  time  after the infliction of
the injury.  Bohn quotes several cases ofthe kind,*
and an instance occurred in the British army in Spain
some  years since, where a soldier  survived for  thir-  ^

  ' Tage 26, 221, 222.                                     ^| 
WOUNDS.
113
teen days with a musket-ball in his heart.* The reason
in some of these  cases is, that the instrument which
causes the wound, prevents, by its closing  the aper-
ture,  that  fatal  hemorrhage which otherwise would
soon follow.!   Wounds  of the aorta and vena cava
are fatal.   It is hardly possible that the thoracic duct
can be wounded  without affecting other vital parts,
but if it should occur,  we  must deem it fatal,  as the
chyle, instead of passing in its ordinary course, is dif-
fused  into the cavity of the thorax.  For similar rea-
sons, the lower part of the oesophagus  is scarcely,  if
ever, wounded separately,  but if so,  it is certainly
mortal, as it* prevents the proper passage ofthe food,
and totally impedes the function of nutrition. Wounds
of the vena azygos are mortal, as they are attended
with a hemorrhage which it is impossible to suppress.
Wounds  of the  diaphragm,  if  made with a  sharp-
pointed instrument, such as a sword,  are dangerous,
if only the muscular parts be injured ;  but if the ten-
dinous  ones  are  also injured, they are considered
fatal.!
   As  a general deduction from these remarks, it may
be observed, that the prognostic in wounds of the tho-
rax is, in most cases,  an  unfavourable one, although
they  are not often mortal,  unless some  primary or-
gans be injured.   John Bell indeed directs  his pupils
never  to call any wound mortal,  unless it be plainly

  * Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 14, p. 129.  See also Triller da
tnirando cordis vulnere post xiv diem demum lelhale, in Schlegel, vol. 5, p.
249.
  t There are, however,  some instances to which this explanation will not
apply.  1 refer particularly to those cited by Dr. TJorsey, one from Dr. Ba-
bington, where a soldier lived some hours after a  wound of the heart by a
bayonet, and another from Pelletan, where the sufferer received a wound
of the aorta from a small sword, and lived two months. " There is reason
to believe," adds Dr. Dorsey, '• that the heart has often been slightly wound-
ed, without fatal consequences."  (Surgery, vol. 1, p. 72-3-4.)  See also
Ballard, p. 331, 355.  Belloc suggests that  a clot may prevent the haemorr-
hage, (p. 290.)
  XI have taken this distinction from the systematic writers, although I am
perfectly convinced of the correctness  of a remark of Dr. Marc, that it is
useless to distinguish between wounds of its tendinous and muscular portions.
(Godman's West. Reporter, vol. 1, p. 44.)  A very curious case of wounded
diaphragm, which from its consequences, proved fatal at the end of eleven,
months, is mentioned in the Edin. Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 8, p. 42
VOX.  II.
15 
114                  WOUNDS.
a wound  of the heart.   This advice may be proper
in surgery, but it can have no bearing on legal medi-
cine, since  it  practically excludes  all  prognostics
whatever.  I  have  therefore given the best founded
opinions that I could obtain, and will only add, that
the prognostic in wounds of the lungs  should in ge-
neral be delayed, as the cases of recovery from des-
perate ones are so  numerous, that we  can never be
justified in peremptorily declaring any  particular in-
stance a mortal wound.  Wounds from fire-arms are,
however,  always more hazardous  than those from
cutting or sharp-pointed instruments.
   Wounds of the abdomen, like those of the thorax,
are  divisible into external or penetrating  wounds.
The former are  to  be deemed simple, unless  they
have been accompanied with a violent  shock of the
system, or are of large extent.  Penetrating wounds
are to be dreaded, either from touching the peritone-
um, and thereby causing inflammation, or from pro-
ducing ventral hernia,  and in the latter case, the ap-
prehension will be graduated on the nature of the vis-
cus  that has  passed  out, and the  inflammation and
strangulation that accompany it.*
  Penetrating wounds may also strike one or more of
the viscera contained in the abdomen, and in that case,
the accidents that occur, and  the medico-legal ques-
tions that arise, are among the most perplexing of this
branch of our subject.  Wounds  of the stomach are
to be deemed highly dangerous,  although there has
been great diversity of opinion concerning their mor-
tality.  Bohn and Teichmeyer pronounce all mortal,
and the  instances of escape,  as almost miraculous,
while Alberti, Boerhaave  and Valentini, consider
those only mortal, which have injured the lower part
and the two orifices.   A wound of the  stomach was
declared accidentally mortal by the medical  faculty
of Giessen, and absolutely mortal by the medical col-

 * The necessity of returning it as early as possible, is very manifest, and if
this be not done, the criminal may escape punishment, at the expense of the
surgeon's reputation.  See a case of this kind in Smith, p. 263. 
WOUNDS.
115
 lege at Frankfort; while in an another case, a wound
 was considered mortal by the faculty at Leipsic, and
 not so by those of Helmstadt and Wirtemberg.*
   This contrariety of opinion has arisen from a consid-
 eration of the following circumstances: wounds ofthe
 stomach have sometimes been cured without any bad
 consequences; various substances, such as knives,forks,
 pins, &c. have been swallowed without immediate in-
jury ; and the operation of gastrotomy has been occa-
sionally performed with safety.!  All these facts tend
 to show, that wounds of the stomach are not absolute-
 ly  mortal,  but they do not permit  us to deny their
 danger.   Certainly,  if inflicted with  a sharp pointed
instrument, and penetrating,  they are to be deemed
hazardous, and the chance of death is increased when
the blood vessels or nerves of the part have been inju-
red.  But  a rupture or division of  the  coats of the
 stomach may also be affected by a severe contusion,
 or  a blow on the part, without any external wound,
 surgically speaking,  being present.  Fabricius men-
 tions the case of a man who was so dreadfully trod
under foot, that not only the stomach was burst,  but
there was a rupture  of the diaphragm, and the food
passed into the cavity of  the  thorax, and  notwith-
standing this, except some slight elevations of the ep-
idermis in the form of vesicles, the integuments  and
abdominal muscles did not appear in the  least injur-
ed.!  It will not appear surprising that sudden death
should be the consequence of a  blow on the epigastric
region, when it is recollected that it is the seat of the
solar plexus, and ofthe semi-lunar ganglion, parts es-
pecially subservient to life, and also that on dissection,
no inflammation of the stomach and the other organs,
should in such a case be found.§   Wounds of the

  * Mahon, vol. 2, p. 122.  Valentini's Pandects, vol. 2, p. 413 to 432.  All
the writers on legal medicine agree, that a wound inflicted on a full sto-
mach is more dangerous than one, on that  organ when empty.  It should
therefore be a subject of enquiry, how long before the injury a meal had
been taken.
  t See a case of this nature in the Medico-Chirurgical Review, Np. 1, p.
103. Also in Philosophical Transactions, vol. 19, p. 178.
  X Mahon, vol. 2, p. 126.
  § " Inspectio et sectio aliquando nihil declarant," says Bohn, p. 114.  So 
116
WOUNDS.
intestines are less to be dreaded than those ofthe sto>-
mach,  and  the instances of  recovery  are infinitely
more numerous.   But although all  surgical  works
abound with these, we must not deem them destitute
of danger, and if death follows after proper treatment,
it is to  be  attributed to the injury.   Wounds  of  the
smaller  intestines are more dangerous  than those of
the, larger,  not only because they perform more im-
portant  functions,  but are supplied  with  a  greater
uumber of nerves.  Wounds ofthe mesentery cannot
be deemed mortal, unless some ofthe large blood ves-
sels of  the organ, or  its principal glands, be injured,
and in these cases, the danger arises from not being
able to  suppress the hemorrhage, or to supply the loss
of the chyle.   Wounds of the omentum are to be esti-
mated like those  of the mesentery ; but it deserves re-
mark, that a contusion is apt to induce  inflammation
and gangrene.   Wounds of the pancreas seldom oc-
cur, unless some  other viscus be injured at the same
time.  If they should happen  separately,  the cause
must have been  an instrument  entering at  the back,
and its wound cannot be considered as mortal, unless
some arterial or  venous vessels have been injured.
Wounds of the liver are generally mortal,  and their
fatality originates in some blood vessel being injured,
or in the consequences that ensue.   Superficial inju-
ries are,  however, frequently healed.   Wounds  of
the gall-bladder are deemed absolutely mortal, as its
fluid is stimulating to a high degree, and  occasions
inflammation and most violent pain.*  Wounds ofthe

also sometimes with blows on the head ; and a case of the latter descrip-
tion is cited by Smith, (p. 250,) from the History ofthe Royal Academy of
Sciences of Paris. " A stout young criminal, condemned to be broken on
the wheel, ran head  foremost against the wall of his  dungeon, with hia
hands behind him, and instantly fell  dead.  On opening the head, not the
slightest appearance of injury was discoverable either in the skull, brain,
cerebellum, or spinal marrow, except a very minute separation in  the
squamous suture, which could not account for so sudden a death.  The
substance of the brain was unusually firm."
I  * There are but very few cases on record of wounds of the gall-bladder,
distinct from other injury.  Oue is mentioned in the Phil.  Transactions,
vol. 36, p. 341, of an otficer, where the fundus was penetrated. He lived a
week.  Sabatier  mentions another  case.  Cooper's Surgical Dictionary.
See also Mctzger, p. 366 
WOUNDS.                  117
various ducts are mortal.  Those ofthe spleen are to
be estimated like  wounds oi the liver; if  deep and
penetrating,  death will  follow  from   hemorrhage.
There are, however, many cases of recovery from in-
jury to this organ.*   It is a common circumstance in
cases  of  sudden death from accidents, falls, &c. to
find the spleen or liver lacerated, and this is therefore
to be deemed a fatal injury.   AVounds of the kidneys
have often been successfully treated ;  they are, how-
ever dangerous, according to their depth, and the effu-
sion of urine  (if  any) into the abdomen.   So also
with wounds of the ureters.   Wounds of the bladder
would not seem to be even very dangerous,  if Ave look
at the success which ordinarily attends  the operation
of lithotomy.   They may, however, prove hazardous
from the  effusion of  its   contents,  or the injury of a
blood vessel.   Wounds  of the neck and sphincters of
the bladder, are apt to  leave incontinence of  urine,
and when this  does occur, it should be stated  iu the
report.   Wounds of  the uterus are dangerous in pro-
portion to the hemorrhage that follows, and the symp-
toms that supervene.   If that organ be impregnated,
the danger is of course increased.
  In all  these instances  of wounds of the abdomen,
the danger is aggravated from extravasation, and this
again is increased according to the nature of the flu-
id,  which may be  either blood, chyle, bile,  fcecal
matter, or urine.  An extravasation of blood is often-
within the power of the surgeon, but its consequences
are however  always to be dreaded.  The  other eva-
cuations  can scarcely, if  ever, except in the case of
the urine, be remedied by means of operations, and
are hence very generally mortal.!
  Wounds of the testicles are dangerous, particular-
ly if they have been contused or injured by a sharp

  * A case is  related  by Mr. Ferguson, surgeon, where apart ofthe spleen
was removed with safety.  Phil. Transactions, vol. 40, p. 425.
  t " The complete effusions of bile, urine, and foeculent matter, prove uni
formly fatal, by their quality inducing a destructive inflammation."  'lea-
vers on Injuries ofthe Intestines, London ed. p. 72, 
118                 WOUNDS.
pointed instrument.  Their division indeed by a cut-
ting instrument may be mortal, unless the subsequent
hemorrhage  be speedily prevented.  The same re-
mark applies to wounds ofthe penis, but in other res-
pects, injuries of this organ are not to be deemed dan-
gerous.
  The extent and variety of injuries that the abdomen
and the viscera contained in it may receive, call  for
all the skill of the surgeon, and his judgment  will be
frequently exercised in deciding on  the fatality or
danger of wounds of this part of the system.
   Wounds of the extremities are to be decided upon
according to  their nature,  but the majority of them
are not dangerous.  Of  simple wounds,  I have al-
ready spoken,  and it is sufficient to add,  that when
the integuments and first layer of muscular fibres only
are wounded, they will heal without difficulty.  The
presence of syphilis and scrophula may however cause
their degenerating into  ulcers, and it must also be no-
ticed, that wounds of  the extremities, in which the
muscular fibres are transversely divided,  will take a
long time to heal.  Contusion also, may increase the
inflammation, or induce  suppuration. Wounds of ten-
dons are generally tedious, and when cured, are often
followed by a loss of substance, and  a want  of mo-
bility in the parts.  Compound fractures are  some-
times hazardous—as also fractures near articulations,
or of parts surrounded by  large masses of muscles.
Comminuted  fractures are extremely tedious in their
cure.   Finally,  fractures in  young persons,  and in
those who are in good health,  are more readily heal-
ed than in old persons,  valetudinarians and pregnant
women.   Wounds complicated  with  dislocations
sometimes induce alarming symptoms, as  also those
in which an important  nerve is divided.   The prog-
nosis however is favorable, unless serious symptoms
supervene on the disease and which are referable to
it.  Wounds of the arteries and  veins are not at  the
present day  considered  dangerous by modern sur-
geons, if timely aid be afforded,  but under other cir- 
WOUNDS.
119
oimstances, a  wound of  a large artery may prove
fatal.   The system may be injured, or so much blood
may have been lost, as to render assistance of little
Value.*  It is extremely rare, that wounds ofthe
veins prove dangerous, except the brachial or femoral
ones  be wounded" near the trunk.   Wounds  of the
articulations are generally to be dreaded, and the ap-
prehension is increased  when they are  complicated,
as for example, with contusion,  hemorrhage or frac-
ture.
  Finally, the prognostic from wounds from fire-arms
is,  in all cases,  more  serious  than  that of  wounds
from cutting instruments.!
   Such are, in a short a space as possible, the various
prognostics of  the numerous wounds  (in a medico-
legal sense) to which the body is liable.   But I must
again remark in this place, that these or similar rules
are not to be taken as infallible guides.   It is only to
aid the examiner in  pronouncing an opinion, that they
deserve any attention,  and he should rely principally
on  the circumstances of the case that is immediately
before him.   " It has indeed been argued, that it is
not enough to say, that the person died of the wound,
but that the wound  must be  characterised as mortal,
thus taking advantage of the systematic arrangement
in  books on surgery,  and deducing  the conclusion,
that when a man dies of a wound that is not there ar-
ranged as mortal, it must have originated from bad
treatment, or misconduct, or irregularity on the part
ofthe patient.!   But the insufficiency of these divis-

  * The following case may also occur.  " J. Denton was indicted in Sep-
tember, 1813, at the Old Bailey,  for the murder of  C. Denton.  He had
■•truck her with a knife, and she  lived a month thereafter.  The medical
testimony stated, that the wound had nearly divided the arteries of the
arm—it mortified, and  she died in consequence.  He was condemned and
executed."  Edinburgh Annual Register, vol. 6, part 2, p. 121.
  t The authorities on  which  this section is founded,  are Bohn, Fodere,
and Mahon.  The two last are in many respects a copy ofthe former.  I
have also consulted Samuel Cooper's Surgical Works,  Dorsey's Surgery,
and  Charles Bell's Operative Surgery, together with Metzger and Belloc,
and the various dissertations in Schlegel.
  { Lawyers are very apt to push the question as to the mortality of wounds
to a considerable length, and by this means endeavour to embarrass the
medical witnesses.  I recommend the answer of the surgeon who deposed 
120                   WOUNDS.
ions has been often proved.   Thus " in a case of one

John Shaw at the  Scotch bar,  three  physicians and

two surgeons swore,  that by the  rules of their prog-

nostics, the wounds received by James Houston were

mortal, whereas Houston was alive,  and the plaintiff

in the very cause, in which  these gentlemen gave this

testimony."*
   When  a surgeon is called on to examine a wound,

the  effects  of which  may  become  the  subject of a

criminal trial,!  he should  ascertain, 1st, whether it

has been already dressed, or if some surgeon has not

been attending to it;  and  2d,  whether the situation

of  the  wounded person  allows of an  examination.

Both  these  are important,  as  much may depend on

the  skill  and care with which the first dressing has

been made ; and again,  should  an examination take

place while the patient is in a feeble state, and death

follow  during it, popular opinion will certainly attach

great blame to the surgeon.   The juridical examina-

tion of  a  wounded person  must also  be deferred in

some cases, where the point or part of  an instrument
remains in the wound.  Here  a  consultation is fre-


on the trial of Count Koningsmark for the murder of Mr. Thynne,to the no-
tice of the latter.  Mr. Thynne was shot with a blunderbuss, and Mr. Hobbs,
the surgeon, swore that he had examined the body after death—that four
bullets had entered it—" that they tore his guts,  and wounded his  liver,
stomach,  and his gal!—wounded his great guts and his small guts, broke
one of his ribs, and wounded the great bone below."
  Sir Francis IVithens. Did he die of those wounds ?
  Mr. Hobbs.  Yes, he did die of those wounds.
  Mr Williams. Did you apprehend them all mortal, or any,  or which of
them ?
  Mr. Hobbs. I believe there never was  a wound, but it might prove mortal.
—Hargrave's State Trials, vol. 3, p. 473.
  * Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 1, p. 339.
  fl mention the following case, as it may be important for the surgeon to
lie aware ofthe doctrine contained in it.  In the case of The King  v. Salis-
bury, the prisoner was committed to  Newgate for stabbing a gentleman
with a knife, so that his life was despaired of. She moved that a physician
and surgeon of her own nominating,  might be permitted to be present at
the dressing of his wound, so as to be able to satisfy the court that he was
out of danger, in order that they might bail her.  Sed per curiam. There
never was a motion of this nature, especially so early as this.  The course
is for the friends ofthe party injured to lay his condition before the court,
when they oppose the bailing ; if they do not do it, we may order such an
attendance for our own satisfaction,  but at present the defendant has no
right to demand it.  1st Strange's Reports, p. 547. 
WOUNDS.
121
quently required to determine on  the propriety of its
removal, and the question has often  arisen,  whether
the death ofthe patient will not be hastened by imme-
diately withdrawing it.
   Let us, however,  suppose the wounded person  to
be in a fit situation for the surgical and juridical exam-
ination.  It is then necessary, before proceeding to  it,
to ascertain the nature and shape ofthe instrument by
which the injury was inflicted.  Enquiry should also
be made as to the relative situation of the parties, at
the moment of the wound—their respective stature,
and position.*   The examiner cannot be too minute,
and he should be cautious in  not  making any obser-
vations on  the nature of the wound,  before he has
fully satisfied his  own mind,  lest they may hereafter
be used to the disadvantage  of his  evidence.   The
form, length, breadth, depth, and direction of  the in-
jury, together with all the other circumstances already
mentioned, should be noticed,  and a detailed summa-
ry of the whole  should then be drawn up  in the form
of a report.   I must, however, caution concerning the
impropriety, and indeed inutility of declaring  any
wound, concerning which there can be the least doubt,
absolutely mortal!   All that can be required  by judi-
cial officers, is  a declaration,  that in the opinion  of
the examiner, the life of the  wounded  person is  in
danger from the injury he has received ;  and on this,
they are  sufficiently  enabled to take all the precau-
tionary steps that may be necessary.   During the ill-
ness, it will be proper to keep a journal,  and if the

  * It has at various times been a subject of anxious discussion, whether
there are any proofs to be drawn from the nature of the wound, discrimi-
native of the injured individual falling on the weapon, or of its having been
thrust into him.  This question was put to the Medical Faculty of Giessen
in 1685, in the case of a wound of the breast, and they decided from accom-
panying circumstances, that the former was probable. Valentini's Pandects,
vol. 1, p. 240. In a late trial in England, of an officer ofthe guards for the
murder of a private, two surgeons deposed, that from the nature of the
wound, they would take it upon themselves to declare, that it must have
been inflicted by the body falling upon the sword, and not occasioned by a
thrust of the weapon.  London Med. and Phys. Journal, vol.  31, p. 467.
4"he grounds on which they formed this opinion, are not stated.
    vor.. IT.               iff 
122                  WOUNDS,
event prove fatal, we have a safe guide to resort to,
in dissection.  The wounded  narts must be minute-
ly examined, and from them, a just conclusion can be
drawn whether the injury was the cause of death.*
  It is not necessary in this place to state the distinc-
tions that exist in our law, and that of England, res-
pecting the crime of  killing,  since they relate  to the
intent, and can have but a slight bearing on the nature
of wounds.  There is  one English statute, however,
which deserves  mention.  It was passed in the reign
of James I.  and declares, " that the thrusting or
stabbing another, who has not a weapon drawn,  or
who hath not  then first stricken  the party  stabbing,
so that he die thereof within six months after," shall
be adjudged murder, though done upon sudden prov-
ocation.!   In the state of New-York, the same stat-
ute has been enacted, and it contains the same provi-
sion  as to time,  fsix months.J   It is to be deemed
murder, " although it cannot be proved that the same
was done of malice aforethought."!
  This provision as  to a specific period of time, dur-
ing  which death must follow in order to constitute
the crime of murder, appears to have entered into the
laws of various  countries.   Thus among the Lom-
bards, the criminal was held guilty, if the individual
injured died within a year.$  In Prussia, on the con-
trary, the practice  is, that the death must take place
within nine days, although the penal code of that
country contains no directions respecting this subject.||
In Frauce it is  fixed at  forty days,^[ while in Eng-
land, the individual  was held amenable for the con-
sequences  during a year and a day.** All these re-
strictions are evidently improper,  since death may
follow at a longer or shorter period of time,  and be
strictly and indisputably traced to the wound in ques-
tion.  It is a  much  safer mode to look at the intent,
and proportion the punishment accordingly.

  * Fodere, vol. 3, p. 402 to 432.     f Blackstone, vol. 4, p. 193
  X Revised Laws, vol. 1, p. 67.     § Bohn, p. 101.
  || Metzger, p. 325.             IT Ballard, p. 325.
  ■* Blackstone, vol. 4, p. 197. 
WOUNDS.                 123
                3. Of Mutilation.
  It will readily occur to  the reader that there may
be many wounds,  which though not mortal in their
nature, are still incurable,  and these may either leave
permanent deformity,  or incapacitate or weaken one
or more ofthe functions of the body.   Laws directed
to the punishment  of such injuries, have accordingly
been enacted in various countries, and as some are in
force in this state, the propriety of a  brief notice is
evident.
  I will commence by mentioning those  in force in
France, as there is a uniformity between the English
law and our own.
  The code of 1791,  established a scale,  founded on
the proportionate magnitude  of the injury.   When-
ever an individual was so wounded as to be unable
to apply himself to any manual labour for the space
of forty days, the criminal was directed to suffer two
years imprisonment.  Three years were appointed in
case the arm, leg, or thigli  was broken; and  four
years, when there was an absolute loss  of sight in
one eye, a complete loss of the use of a member, or a
mutilation of some part of the head or body.   It was
extended to six years, provided there was an absolute
blindness, or a total inability to use either both arms
or both legs.*
  The code now in force does not contain these dis-
tinctions,  but leaves to the judges the power of vary-
ing the period of imprisonment.   It  is, however, in
one  respect, more severe  than the former, as it pre-
scribes imprisonment generally against the individual
who shall, either by wounds or blows,  injure  a  per-
son so that he is ill, or unable to labour, for the space
of twenty days thereafter.   And this imprisonment is
to be not less than five, nor  more than  ten  years.!
One species of  mutilation is,  however, particularly
noticed, viz. castration.  It subjects the  criminal to
* Fodere, vol. 3, p. 427.
t Ibid. p. 428. 
124
WOUNDS.
hard labour for life, and if  it should prove fatal with-
in four days, he is to suffer death.   Outrages against
decency are alone to excuse from this punishment.*
  In the English law, the term Mayhem is applied to
the  cases  now under notice.   This is defined by
Blackstone, to be " the violently depriving another of
the use of such of his members, as may  render him
the  less able in fighting either to defend himself or
annoy his adversary.   And therefore, the cutting off,
or disabling, or weakening a man's hand or finger, or
striking out his eye or fore-tooth, or depriving him of
those parts, the loss of which in animals abates their
courage, are held to  be  mayhems.   But the cutting
off his ear or nose, or the like, are not held to be may-
hems at common law, because  they  do not  weaken,
but only disfigure him."
   " By the common law also, mayhem has for a long
time  been only  punishable with fine and imprison-
ment,  unless perhaps  the offence of mayhem by cas-
tration, which all our old writers held to be felony;
and this, although the mayhem was  committed upon
the highest provocation."!
   Subsequent statutes have,  however,  more clearly
defined the crime and  its punishment.   By  a statute
passed in the 5th  year of Henry IV.  it was  enacted,
that the beating,   wounding,  or robbing  a man, and
then cutting out his tongue,  or putting  out his eyes,
shall be considered a felony.   Next, was the statute
37 Henry  VIII. which directs, that if  a man shall
maliciously and unlawfully cut off the ear of any his
majesty's  subjects, he  shall not only forfeit treble
damages in a civil suit, but ten pounds by way of fine
to  the king, which  was  his  criminal  amercement.

  * Fodere, vol. 3, p. 244.
  t The ancient Anglo-Saxon laws contained a regular scale of fines for
personal injuries of this description.  The loss of a leg or eye subjected the*
offender to a fine of fifty shillings ; a wound that caused lameness, thirty
shillings ; one that caused deafness, twenty-five shillings ; piercing the nose
was punished with a fine of nine shillings ;  a front tooth was compensated
for by six shillings, and an eye tooth by four shillings.  Money, it must be
remembered, was in those days one hundred times more valuable than at
present. Edin. Encyclop. vol. 3, p. 94, Amer. ed. 
WOUNDS.
125
After this, was passed the Coventry act,  in the reign
of Charles II. and so called from its being occasioned
by an assault on Sir John Coventry in the street, and
slitting his  nose,  in revenge  (as  was supposed)  for
some obnoxious words uttered by him in parliament.
This ordains, that if any man shall, of malice afore-
thought, and by lying in wait, unlawfully cut  out  or
disable the tongue, put out an eye, slit the nose, cut off
a nose or lip, or cut off or disable any limb or member
of any other person, with an intent to maim or to dis-
figure him, he shall be deemed  a felon without be-
nefit of clergy.*
   The law in the state of J^ew-York,  is taken from
several of the above.   As it  is short, I will quote it
at length.   It enacts " that if any person  shall  on
purpose  and  of malice aforethought,   cut  out  the
tongue, or put out the eyes of any other person,  or if
any person shall  on purpose  and of malice afore-
thought,  and by lying in wait, unlawfully cut out or
disable  the tongue,  put out  an eye, slit the nose  or
lip, or cut oft'  or disable any limb or member of any
other  person, with intent in so doing to murder  or
kill,  or to maim or disfigure, in any of the manners
aforesaid, every such offence shall be deemed  and ad-
judged felony."!  And by another law,  the punish-
ment for the crime is directed, to be imprisonment in
the state prison for life.
   Some  interesting  decisions  have been made  in
England under  the Coventry  act, and as they are ap-
plicable to our  own,  should similar cases  occur, I
will mention a few.
   In 1721, Mr. Coke,  a gentleman of the bar, and
one Woodburne were indicted,  the one for hiring
and abetting, the other, for actually slitting the nose
of Mr. Crispe,  the brother-in-law of Coke.  On the
trial,  Mr.  Sturgeon, the surgeon, swore that there

  * Blackstone, vol. 4, p. 205, 206, 207.
  t Revised Laws, vol l,p. 168.  A lawsimilarto the above in many res-
pects, was passed in England in the 43d of George 3d.  All wilful or mali-
cious stabbing or cutting, with intent to murder, rob, maim, disfigure, or
disable, or to do some grievous bodily harm, is declared felony 
126
WOUNDS.
 were several wounds on the face, one wound divided
 the right side ofthe nostril, and made an oblique cross
 over the wound,  and ended near the right under-jaw.
 The nose was cut from w ithout into the nostril, the
 edge of the nose was not cut through, but there was
 a cut or slit in it, that went through.  Mr. Coke, with
 great  effrontery, said,  that his aim was to murder,
 and not to maim  or disfigure.   When the verdict of
 guilty came in, he asked  whether the nose could be
 said to be slit, within the meaning of the statute,
 when the edge of it was not cut through.   To this,
 the lord chief justice (Sir Peter King) replied—" It is
 true, the edge of the nose was not slit, but the cut was
 athwart the nose, which cut separated the flesh of the
 nose, and cut it  quite through  the  nostril.  This I
 take (he added)  to be a slitting of the nose, and the
 surgeon  swore the nose teas slit."   Both Coke and
 Woodburne were executed.*
  In the  case of one Carrol,  at the Old Bailey ses-
 sions,  in  July 1765,  it appeared that he  had struck
 the  prosecutor,  (Mr. Kirby,) with  a razor bladed
 knife across the nose  and eyes—and upon examina-
 tion, it appeared that the two great blood vessels iu
 the forehead were  divided—that  there was a large
 transverse wound across the nose, so wide open, that
 the bone was visible.  It began from the right, and
 went  across the  eyelids and across the  nose.   The
 muscles of the nose were cut through, and it proceed-
 ed to the left eyelid,  and terminated at  the temple.
 A nerve was also cut.  It was  stated in evidence,
 that in many old writers on surgery, such wounds
 are called slits, but that slit is not a word made use
 of now.  The word slit is understood as synonimous
 to the word cut, but the idea which was formerly con-
 veyed by the word slit is now expressed in speaking
technically, by the word divided. The jury found the
prisoner guilty,  but it  was questioned,  whether a
 transverse cut was a slitting, within  the meaning of
* Hargrave, vol. 6, p. 211 
WOUNDS.
127
the act, the wound not having perforated the nostril.
It was  accordingly referred to the judges,  who held
that the offence was properly proved, and the prison-
er was accordingly executed. *
   Lastly,  one Tickner was tried in 1778, at the Old
Bailey, under  the same  act, for injury done to Wil-
liam Jacob.  There Avere  several wounds on various
parts of the body, but the cut on the nose had divided
the  integuments  in an  oblique direction.  It  went
down to the bone,  but not through the  bones of the
nostrils, nor did it penetrate to the nostrils, and was
rather a scratch,  than a slit.  It was however  suffi-
cient to leave a mark visible  for some time.  The
prisoner was  convicted,  but sergeant Glynn ordered
the  execution to  be respited, until the opinion of the
twelve judges  could be procured, whether this convic-
tion was proper within the meaning of the Coventry
act.  They were of opinion, that the conviction was
right.!
   In  Connecticut,  it is enacted, that " every person
 who shall  of  malice aforethought,  and by lying  in
 wait, cut out or  disable the tongue of another, or put
 out the eye or eyes of another,  so that the person is
thereby made blind, or cut off  all or any of the privy
members of another,  and shall be thereof duly con-
 victed, shall suffer death.
   "Every person who shall of malice aforethought,
put out an  eye,  slit the nose, cut or bite off the nose,
 ear or lip ; or cut, or bite off or disable any limb or
 member of another person, with an intention in so do-
 ing to maim or  disfigure  such  person, and shall  be
 thereof duly convicted,  shall suffer  imprisonment for
 life, or such term of years as the court may direct.!"
   In New-Jersey, New-Hampshire, Massachusetts,

   " East's Treatise, p. 399. Lawyer's Magazine, vol. 1, p. 202.
   t Lawyer's Magazine, vol. 1, p. 203. William Lee was tried at the  Old
 Bailey in 1763, for attempting to cut his wife's throat with  a razor while
 asleep. The wound was three inches in length, and quite across, but did
 not prove mortal.   This was held not to be an offence within the Coventry
   t Revised Laws, 1821, p. 151, 152. 
128
WOUNDS.
Rhode-Island and Pennsylvania, the laws are similar
to the one  in  New-York,  and the punishments are
fine or imprisonment, or both.*
  In Vermont,  the only  crimes of this description
specified, are cutting out the tongue,  putting out the
eyes, or cutting off the privy parts, and the punish-
ment may be imprisonment for life, or a large fine.!
  In,Delaware, the crimes included in the  Coventry
act,  were  by a colonial  law,  made  punishable  by
death, and I cannot find that this has been repealed.!

  * Revised Laws, New-Jersej-, 1821, p. 259.  Laws of New-Hampshire,
1797,  p. 279.  Laws  of Massachusetts, 1807, vol.  3, p. 283.  Laws of
Rhode-Island, 1798,  p. 589. Laws of Pennsylvania, 1803, vol. 5, p. 3.
With reference to Massachusetts, see also the case of the Commonwealth
v. Newell and others.  Massachusetts Reports, vol. 7, p. 245.
  + Laws of Vermont, 1808, vol. 1, p. 334.
   Laws of Delaware, 1797, p. 69. 
CHAPTER III.
                         POISONS.

Definition of a poison—Remarkable resistance sometimes observed to the
  action of poisons—in individuals—in animals.  Modes in which poisons
  may be  introduced into the system.   Division of poisons—division pro-
  posed by Foder£, and adopted with modifications by Orfila.  1. Signs of
  poison on the living body.  Symptoms of the corrosive or acrid poi-
  sons—the narcotic—narcotico-acrid-—astringent— Causes that may modi-
  fy or vary the progress of symptoms.   Preliminary directions for the ana-
  lysis of suspected substances—Insufficiency of chemical analysis, in pois-
  oning by vegetable substances—Exhibition ofthe suspected substance to
  animals.  Directions of Orfila on this point. Of poisoning during illness-
  Of slow poisons—of poisons administered to several persons at the same
  lime—variety in their effects.  Of poisoning as the result of suicide or ho-
  micide.  Diseases and symptoms that may be mistaken for the effects of
  poison—idiosyncracy—indigestion—sudden illness.  2. Signs of  rois-
  on on the dead  bodv.   Rules for  dissection.  Appearances on dissec-
  tion from the corrosive poisons—the narcotic—the narcotico-acrid—and
  the astringent—Variety in these.  How far the presence of putrefaction
  effects the value of dissections. Of the introduction of poisons into the
  body after death—Appearances indicative of this.  Slow poisons.  Ap-
  pearances observed on dissection in certain diseases, which maybe mis-
  taken for poison—in cholera morbus—repelled eruptions.  Phenomena
  that may be mistaken—the vascularity of the stomach—digestion and
  perforation of the stomach—Rupture of the stomach.

   <{ The means of ascertaining the traces of poisons,
either on the  living or the   dead body,  is  one of the
most important subjects  in legal medicine, and its im-
portance is only equalled by its difficulty."
   I propose  to consider the subject under three gene-
ral divisions.
   1. The signs of poison in the living body.
   2. The signs of poison on the dead body.
   3.  The various kinds  of substances  that  may, or
have  produced  these dangerous and fatal effects.
   Previous to  an examination  of these, a  few preli-
minary observations will be proper.
   What is a  poison ? The  ancients considered every
     vol.  ir.                   17 
130                   POISONS.
 thing as  poisonous,  that produced malignant  symp-
 toms, and attacked  directly what we style the vital
 principle.  Thus, miasma was with them a  poison,
 and their remedies, or antidotes, were accordingly di-
 rected to the support and cherishing ofthe vital heat,
 and to increase action throughout the body.   Hence
 also the name  of alexipharmics, and  the belief of
 driving  out  poison by transpiration.  The  common
 idea of a poison by the moderns,  on the  other hand,
 is that it is a  substance which,  on being applied  in
 one or other way to  the human  body, is capable  of
 destroying  the action  of the vital functions, or  of
 placing the solids and fluids in  a situation that pre-
 vents the continuance of life.  Dr.  Mead's definition
 includes every substance which,  in small  doses, can
 produce great changes on the living body.  This  is
 evidently too extensive, since it embraces  many ar-
 ticles that are not regarded  as poisons, and excludes
 others that are  really so.  Thus, a small quantity  of
 bread or water has produced great changes,  whilst
 opium or corrosive sublimate has been taken in large
 quantities, without injurious  effects.  The definition
given by Fodere, although liable  to criticism, is pro-
bably as unexceptionable as any that has yet been
 offered.   He considers poisons to be those substances
which are known  by  physicians  as capable of  alter-
ing or destroying, iu a majority of cases,  some  or all
of the functions necessary to life.*   The  great and
leading object  in  medico-legal  cases, necessary  to
complete the idea of a poison, is the intent with which
the substance is given.
  Another  interesting  question,  is the manner  in
which poisons act.  This has been a subject of fruit-
ful discussion among  modern physiologists, and our
own country has not  been wanting in ardent examin-
ers respecting it.!   It is not necessary, with reference

  * Fodere, vol. 3, p. 449.
  t See Ducachet's Inaug. Dissertation on the action of poisons.  Somer-
ville's Inaug. Dissertation on the organs of aborption. (Chapman's Journal,
vol. 2,p. 408.) Report ofthe committee of the academy of medicine, on the
means by which aborption is  effected.  Ibid. vol. 3, p. 282.  Dr. MilnorV 
POISONS.
131
to the science of medical jurisprudence, to enlarge on:
the varied results obtained by experimentalists, nor
to enter into a discussion concerning the weight of
testimony in favour ofthe blood-vessels,  the  nerves,
or the lymphatics, as  the medium  by which poisons
produce their effects.   A concise notice of the conse-
quences observed from each  individual poison,  will
be more appropriate to the object of the work,  and
this will accordingly find its proper place  in the third
division of the subject.
  The remarkable resistance that  is sometimes ob-
served to the action of poisons, also deserves an early
allusion.   Instances of this nature  are so numerous,
that a selection of the more striking will  be sufficient
to illustrate the position.
  Among  the Hungarians, the seeds of the Palma
Christi are often taken, to the amount of thirty-six
grains, without any inconvenience, and  some of the
French peasantry use a decoction of colocynth  as a
common purgative.  The common dose of the extract
of the aconitum napellus is one or two grains, and it
is deemed dangerous  to use  it in larger  quantities ;
but  Fodere was consulted  concerning  the  case of
Charles IV.  of Spain, who, while residing at Mar-
seilles,  Avas  attacked with a rheumatic gout, and he
recommended the medicine  in question.   M. Soria,
the king's physician, replied, that at a former period,
it had been administered for a length of time, and to
such an extent, that the patient took a drachm daily,
without any good or evil effects.  This monarch was
now sixty-two years of age, athletic, and  had an ex-
cellent appetite.*  The fumes  of mercury, of lead,
and of copper, are well known to be injurious  to those
who inhale them, yet  no fact is  better  established
than that  of workmen resisting their effects for ma*ay
years.  " In  the mines  of  Peru," says Humboldt,

Experiments. Ibid. vol. 4, p. 10.  Dr. Hubbard's Experiments. Ibid. vol. 4,
p. 242. Drs. Lawrence and Coates' Experiments. Ibid. vol. 5, p. 327.  Al-
so Dr. Hale's Boylston Prize Dissertation.
  * Fodere, vol. 3, p. 468. 
132
POISONS.
" from five to six thousand persons are employed  in
the amalgamation of the  minerals, or the preparatory
labour.  A great number  of these individuals pass
their lives in walking barefooted over  heaps of bray-
ed metal, moistened and mixed with muriate of soda,
sulphate of iron, and oxide of mercury, by the contact
of the atmosphere  and the solar rays.  It  is a re-
mark-able phenomenon," he adds,  " to see these men
enjoy the most  perfect  health."*  Again,  in all the
Savoyard and Swiss Alps, milk is collected and kept
in small copper vessels, and  in Germany, preserved
fruits are put into vessels of  this metal,  in  order  to
give them a green  colour, and all without inducing
any injury.!  The most astonishing of  cases, how-
ever, on record, is that of the old man at Constanti-
nople, who had been in the habit for thirty  years,  of
swallowing enormous quantities  of corrosive subli-
mate, until his dose came at last to be a drachm daily.
He was living in 1800.!
  These exceptions to general rules are best explain-
ed  on the principle of idiosyncrasy, or of habit ren-
dering the system innoxious  to  their effects. ||  And
such extraordinary instances should, above all, never
influence us in legal medicine, nor lead us to the idea,
that because one person has taken  a particular sub-
stance without any ill effects, it is therefore not a poi-
son.  The academy of Berlin was consulted in 1752,
whether copper was a poison.  They replied, that
they did not consider it decidedly so, since several
had taken it with impunity, either separately or mix-
ed  with food.  Now, if this decision receives a ge-

  * Francis' Inaugural Dissertation on Mercury, p. 27.
  t Fodere, vol. 3, p.  449.
  X This case was first mentioned by Dr. Pouqueville. Mr. Thornton
doriited the story, and criticised the name given him.  Lord  Byron, in the
notes to his CJhilde Harold, attacked Mr. Thornton in his turn. And thiK
" this man, (says  Mr. Hobhouse) though nearly one hundred years old,
was, like Partridge the almanack maker, almost reasoned out of existence
by a verbal criticism,  which has turned out to be incorrect."   Hobhouse's
Albania, vol. 2, p. 945. Lond. ed.
  H The quantity of opium taken daily by many of the Turks, is also a strik-
ing proof of this. 
POISONS,
138
neral application,  we  may undoubtedly adduce ex-
amples of wonderful escapes from the effects of almost
all noxious substances, and thus destroy  the idea  of
poison altogether.*
   There is another curious fact connected with this
subject, which it is proper to mention.   It is, the dif-
ferent effects which some substances produce on man
and other animals—being noxious to the one, and in-
noxious to the other,  and vice versa.   Thus, sweet
almonds kill dogs, foxes and fowls—aloes is destruc-
tive to dogs and foxes,  pepper to hogs, and parsley to
the parrot.   On the contrary,  the leopard's bane (ar-
nica montana) is fatal to man, while it is food for wild
goats and swallows.   Hogs feed on henbane,  (hyo-
scyamus)—pheasants on stramonium,  and sheep  on
hemlock and the manchineal  apple with impunity.
Even arsenic is said  to prove harmless to the wolf.f
   The danger of poisons,  as well as the  rapidity of
their action, varies  considerably.  Animal  poisons
are probably the most  speedily and the most certain-
ly fatal,  though they would  seem to be  equalled in
both respects, by some of the vegetable poisons when
introduced  by  puncture  into  the system.   I refer
particularly to the poisoned arms of savage  nations.
Next, the mineral, and the lastly the vegetable poi-
sons.  The latter, though generally slower in their
operation, are often no  less destructive.
  Poisons may be introduced into the  system in vari-
ous ways :  through the nose, in the  form of odours—
through the lungs,  by inspiration—by the mouth and
oesophagus,  in the form of food—by the anus, in the
form  of injection, and  through the  skin  by  absorp-
tion.!

  * Fodere, vol. 3, p. 470.
  t Fodere, vol. 4, p. 203. Mahon, vol. 2, p. 302.  Ducachet, p. 20. |Beck
mann, (vol. 1, p. 52) says, that four drachms of sugar given to a pigeon,
killed it in four hours, and five drachms, a duck in seven hours.
  X Fodere, vol. 3, p. 481.  There are many curious accounts on record of
ihe mode, in which poison was supposed to have been perpetrated.  Thm
Zacchias says, that Pope Clement VII. was poisoned by the smoke of a can-
dle, and it has been supposed that dresses and jewels might be impregnated
with venomous matter. Queen Elizabeth was to have been poisoned by 
134
POISONS.
   In noticing  individual poisons,  two modes of ar-
 rangement have been pursued  by  various writers ;
 the one founded on the basis of natural history, and
 the other upon the action of  these  substances on the
 living system.   The latter has of late  years been
 most  generally  adopted by  authors  on toxicology,
 with however  great  variety as to their classification.
 There are however  some  objections  to  following it
 implicitly in a work  on medical jurisprudence, since,
 in addition to its allowed incompleteness,  it is arrang-
 ed  principally on a view of symptoms.*  These,
 though highly important, are but a part ofthe objects
 of investigation in the science  under consideration.
   It is notwithstanding  practicable, I apprehend, to
 combine both  in such a manner as  to  increase  their
 respective utility.  Nearly all the corrosive poisons,
 for example, of Fodere and Orfila, belong to the min-
 eral  kingdom  and the  septic to the  animal,  while
 the  a rid,  narcotic,  and narcotico-acrid, divide the
 vegetable kingdom.   I  propose therefore,   to follow
 the natural  history method generally,  and  when we
 arrive at vegetable poisons, consider them under the
 above division, taking care at  the same time, to men-
 tion any  individual substance in the other kingdoms
 which differs in action from its associates.
   The division of poisons, proposed by Fodere, and
 adopted  and modified after him  by Orfila, may be
 introduced  in  this place.   It contains six classes,.
 viz.

 spreading some on the pommel ofthe saddle.  " The queen, in mounting,
 would transfer the ointment to her hand;  with her hand, she was likely to
 touch her mouth or nostrils, and such was the virulence ofthe poison, that
 certain death must follow."  Aikin's Memoirs of Queen Elizabeth, Amer.
 ed. vol. 2, p. 306.  There is a minute of council extant, in the hand-writing
 of Cecil, which contains, among other things, the following caution : " That
no manner of perfume, either in apparel, or sleeves, gloves, or such like, or
otherwise that shall be appointed for your majesty's savor, be presented by
any stranger, or other person, but that the same be corrected by some oth-
er fume." Ibid. vol. 1, p. 299.
  * "The arrangement of M. Fodere is rather calculated for a natural his-
tory of poisons, than to elucidate this branch of juridical medicine."  Edin.
Med. Jour. vol. 1, p. 339. See also Smith, p. 66. 
poisons.                       135
      The Corrosive or escharotic,

      Astringent,

      Acrid,
      Narcotic or stupifying,
      Narcotico-acrid,

      Septic and putrefying.*

   The substances belonging to each, are as follows :


            CLASS I.
   Corrosive or Escharotic Poisons.
 irsenical Preparations.
  Arsenious acid,  or white oxyd of
    arsenic
  The arsenites
  Black oxide of arsenic, fly powder
  Arsenic acid
  Arseniates of potash,  soda, and
    ammonia
  Yellow and red sulphurets of ar-
    senic
 Mercurial Preparations.
  Corrosive sublimate
  Nitrate of mercury
  Red precipitate
  Red oxyd of mercury, (precipitate
    per sc)
  Sulphate of mercury, (turbith mi-
    neral)
  White precipitate
  Mercurial vapours
 Antimonial Preparations.
  Oxide of antimony
  Tartar emetic
  Antimonial wine
  Muriate  of antimony
  Kermes  mineral, beyond medical
    doses
  Golden sulphur of antimony, do.
  Cinnabar of antimony, &.c.
  Antimonial vapours
 Copper.
  Oxide of copper
  Sulphate of copper
  Nitrate of copper
  Muriate of copper
  Acetate  of copper


  * In his manual, entitled " Directions for the treatment of persons who have
 taken poison, &c." Orfila has somewhat modified this division.  The  ar-
rangement  there is as follows : Irritating, or those which produce inflam-
mation of the parts to which they are applied.  And underthis, he includes
the preparations  of lead,  thus virtually abolishing the class of astringent
poisons, except so far as relates to saturnine emanations.  He also includes
under this, the acrid vegetable poisons.  This, indeed, he virtually did in
his toxicology.  2.  Narcotic.  3. Acrid narcotic.  4. Septic.
  Ammoniacal copper
  Coppery soaps
  Coppery wine
Silver.
  Nitrate of silver
 Gold.
  Muriate of gold
  Fulminating gold
Zinc.
  Oxide of zinc
  Sulphate of zinc
Bismuth.
  Nitrate of bismuth
  Sub-nitrate of bismuth
 Tin.
  Muriate of tin
  Oxides of tin
Acids,  concentrated, and  in  parti
    cular,
  Sulphuric acid
  Nitric acid
  Muriatic acid
  Phosphoric acid
  Fluid nitrous acid
  Sulphureous acid
  Fluoric acid
  Phosphorous acid
  Oxalic acid
  Tartaric acid
Alkalies, caustic.
  Potash
  Soda
  Ammonia
Alkaline carbonates in large doses
Caustic alkaline earths.
  Barytes, and its salts
  Quicklime
Phosphorus
Glass and enamel in  powder 
136                        poisons.
  Cantharides
  Iodine
  Hydrogenated sulphuret of potash

            CLASS II.
        Astringent Poisons.
Lead.
  Acetate of lead
  Carbonate of lead, cerusse
  Litharge
  Wines  and water impregnated
    with lead
  Food cooked in leaden vessels
  Syrups and spirits clarified with
    acetate of lead
  Saturnine emanations

          CLASS  III.
         Acrid Poisons.
  Chlorine
  Fluid chlorine
  Nitrous acid gas
  ■Sulphureous acid gas
  Mtrate of potash
  Veratrum album, white hellebore
  Helleborus niger, black hellebore
  Bryonia Dioica
 Elaterium
 Colocynth
 Gamboge
 Daphne Gnidium, spurge flax
 Daphne Mezereum, k.c.
 Ricinus communis
 Euphorbia officinarum, and several
  other species
 Savine
 Rhus radicans
 Rhus toxicodendron
 Rhus vernix
 Anemone pulsatilla, &c.
 \coniturn napellus, fee.
 Chelidonium majus
 Delphinium staphysagria
 Narcissus pseudo-narcissus
 OEnanthe crocata
 Gratiola officinalis
Jatropha curcas
 Scilla maritima
Seduin acre
Ranunculus flammula,  and several
  other species
Rhododendron chrysanthum
Fritillaria imperialis
Pedicularis  palustris
Cyclamen europaeum
P rnbagoeuropasa
C ichicum autumnale
Si ammony
Cerbera ahovai
  Cynanchum erectum
  Lobelia syphilitica
  Apocynum androsceinifolium, and
    other species
  Asclepias gigantea
  Hydrocotile vulgaris
  Clematites vitalba, &.c.
  Pastinaca saliva annosa
  Soelanthus quadragonus, and other
    species
  Phytolacca  decandra
  Croton tiglium
  Arum maculatum, &. other specif
  Calla palustris

           CLASS IV.
         Narcotic poisons
  Opium
  Hyoscyamus niger
  Hyoscyamus albus, &.c
  Prussic acid
  Prunus lauro cerasu=
  Oil of laurel
  Bitter almonds
  Lactuca virosa
  The solana
  Taxus baccata
  Actsea spicata
 Physalis somnifera
 Azalea pontica
 Ervum crvilia
 Lathyrus cicera
 Paris quadrifolia
 Nitrogen gas
 Nitrous oxide

          CLASS V
        Narcotico-acrid
 Atropa belladonna
 Datura stramonium, Sic
 Tobacco
 Digitalis purpurea
 Anagallis arvensis
 Aristolochia clemaliti'
 Conium  maculatum
 Cicuta virosa
 OZthusa cynapium
 Ruta graveolens
 Nerium oleander
 Upas Tieute
 Nux Vomica
 Bean of St. Ignatius
 Angustura pseudo-fcrruginep
 Upas antiar
 Ticunas
Woorara
Camphor
Cocculus indicus
Poisonous mushrooms 
POISONS.
137
Alkohol                            CLASS VI.
Sulphuric aether                  Septic or putrefying Poisons.
S2oSo5di?fcarbon        Sulphuretted hydrogen gas

Lolium temulentum           »r'Per    „„„i,„„
Hippomane mancinella         Venomous snakes
Mercurialis perennis           |corP!0'1
Ohteronhyllura sylvestre        tarantula
Siuni latlfolium              Sting of bees, wasps, fcc
Coriaria myrtifolia            Poisonous fishes
Odours of the above plants       Muscles
                         Malignant pustule
                         Rabies.
        1. Signs of poisons on the living body.
   A person is  supposed to be poisoned, if,  being ih
 perfect  health, he is  attacked, after having taken
 some food or  drink, with violent pain, cramp in the
 stomach, nausea,  vomiting, convulsive aciion, and a
 sense of  suffocation; or if he be seized,  under the
 same circumstances, with vertigo, giddiness, deliri-
 um,  or unusual drowsiness.*
   All these symptoms  may however  be the effect of
 sudden  disease, and the examiner  should  therefore
 recollect whether  an  epidemic or sporadic  disease,
 resembling that of  the patient, does  not exist.    He
 should also enquire into his strength, mode of  life,
 and habit of body, and ascertain whether  he  had
 previously  complained  of ill health.  The time at
 which the noxious substance was taken, and the vehi-
 cle iu which it was given—the taste or odour  that
 was  perceived  on its administration,  and the food or
 drink that has been lately  swallowed, are all  sub-
jects  that require particular notice.
   Having formed  an  opinion, from a review of  the
 above circumstances, that a poisonous substance has
 been  taken, the next question that arises  is,  to what
 class it  belongs.   Although  (as I have already re-
 marked,) the  symptoms of poisons  are somewhat

  * These are the most striking preliminary symptoms. Mahon has collec-
ted a long list from the older writers, which, however, includes most of the
appearances  observed during the whole progress of  the aciion of poisons
It is evidently too general to be of much practical value.  See Mahon. vo!
2, p. 263.
VOL. II.
1.3 
138
POISONS.
equivocal and unsettled, yet there are certain leading
and characteristic  appearances which in a majority
Of cases serve to distinguish the two great divisions
of poisons from each other.  And these two, are the
corrosive or acrid and the narcotic*
   We may suppose a corrosive or acrid poison to be
the cause of present disease, if the patient has observ-
ed that the food or drink,  which was its vehicle, had
not its ordinary taste—if he has felt a heat, an irrita-
tion or an extraordinary and  sudden dryness at the
root ofthe mouth and cesophagus,  with a constriction
or sense of strangling in those  parts—if this be suc-
ceeded by an obstinate  anxiety to vomit, and sharp
pains in the stomach and intestines—if there be great
thirst, copious discharges, by vomiting  and by stool,
accompanied with tenesmus and followed by hiccup,
by a sense of constriction across the diaphragm, and
a difficulty of breathing—if there be great pain in the
region of the kidneys,  followed by strangury—if con-
vulsions, cramps of the hands, trembling of the lips,
extinction ofthe voice, repeated faiutings, cold sweats,
and a small,  chorded and irregular pulse be present;
and  if,  in  addition to all these,  the intellectual facul-
ties  remain perfect,  until the disease arrives near its
fatal termination.f
   A narcotic  poison, on the other hand, produces the
following effects :  Stupor,  numbness, a great inclina-
tion to sleep,  coldness  and stiffness of the extremities,
a cold sweat  of a foetid or greasy  nature, swelling of
the neck  and face,  protusion of the eye with a hag-
gard cast of  countenance,  thickening of the tongue,
frequent vertigo,  weakened eyesight, or objects pre-
sented to it, in a fantastic  manner, coma, delirium,

  * Although Orfila has followed the arrangement of Fodere- yet he expli-
citly states that the corrosive and acrid poisons produce phenomena pre-
cisely similar. Vol.2, p. 1 and521.
  t Fodere, vol. 4, p.  190.  Orfila, vol. 1, p. 15.  vol. 2, p. 98, 514.  "In
general," (says the last author,) " the patient preserves the use of his intel-
lectual faculties during the first periods, but a short time before death, he
falls into a state  of great insensibility and immobility, and is agitated by-
convulsive movements."  He also mentions purple spots over the body,
and a miliary eruption as occasional symptoms of this tlass. 
POISONS.
139
general debility, palpitation of the heart, the pulse at
first full and strong,  but afterwards unequal and in-
termittent, paralysis of the lower extremities, retrac-
tion of the lips, general swelling of the body,  and
dilatation of the veins.  At the conclusion ofthe dis-
ease, slight convulsions and  pain are sometimes  pre-
sent.*
   U we pursue the arrangement of Fodere, we shall
find that the narcotico-acrid poisons are distinguished
by a combination of several of the above symptoms.
They are,  agitation, pain,  acute cries, sometimes stu-
por  and convulsive motions ofthe muscles of the face,
jaws and extremities—vertigo, and  occasionally  ex-
treme  stiffness of the limbs—and contraction of the
muscles of the thorax—the eyes red and starting from
their sockets,  the pupils frequently dilated—insensi-
bility to external impressions—mouth full of foam—
tongue  and gums livid—nausea,  vomiting,  frequent
stools : often these symptoms attack  in  paroxysms,
and the patient is left comparatively  easy for a few
moments.f
   Lastly,  astringent  poisons, of which,  lead  is  the
most striking, are characterized by severe gripings in
the  stomach  and abdomen, occasional vomitings, in-
cessant cough,  and wasting or paralysis.  The  ab-
sence of fever, and the protracted nature of  the  dis-
ease, unless very large  quantities have  been taken,
appear also to be distinctive marks.
   It may appear easy, after this enumeration, to  dis-
tinguish the nature of the poison that has been taken,
but in  ordinary practice it is, notwithstanding,  very
difficult.  There are substances very distinct in their
characters  which  produce similar effects, as for ex-
ample, cantharides, acrid  vegetable substances,  and
caustic minerals.  All these belong to the class of cor-
rosives, and generally exhibit similar symptoms. The
difficulty is increased, when it is recollected, that  or-
dinary  and innoxious substances, so far  as concerns

  ' Fodere, vol. 4, p. 190.  Orfila, vol. 2, p. 170, 515.
  1 Orfila, vol.  2, p. 367, 516. 
140                  POISONS.
their  poisonous nature,  sometimes  cause the most
alarming symptoms.   Fodere observes, that he  ha*
seen .\ roasted chesnut produce all the  symptoms of
poison, until a dose of tartar emetic dispelled its in-
fluence.*
  On the other hand,  a variety is frequently observed
in the symptoms excited by the same poison, on  dif-
ferent individuals.  Many  causes may conduce to
this, such as the mode in which it is exhibited.   A
poison given in the liquid form,  is generally more
rapid and marked in its  effects than when it is  ex
hibited in the  solid state; and  the  substances pre-
viously or subsequently taken, may also modify  the
symptoms   Instances of this variety are to be found
in all authors on toxicology.  Marc produced saliva-
tion in a dog, by giving him a  large  dose of opium,
while sleep, the common consequence, was wanting.f
So  also Morgagni relates of a female, aged sixty,
who had eaten a paste composed of milk and  arsenic,
which had  been prepared  for  rats.   She  died in
twelve hours after, but  without having suffered any
sevcie pains or convulsions.   On dissection, however,
her stomach was found eroded/J
  I apprehend that the circumstance of the patient's
vomiting or not vomiting, has  the greatest influence
on the course and variety of the symptoms.   This is
a subject to which I shall  have frequent occasion
hereafter to  refer, but it may be remarked at present,
that there are  many persons who vomit very readily,
whilst in others the  act is very difficult, and almost
causes convulsions.  In the former case,  the poison
may be rejected before  it has time to produce inju-
rious  effects, while in the latter,  death will be the
inevitable consequence.   And again, the poison, from
the  quantity taken, or for some other reason, may it-
self produce vomiting, and thus prevent the fatal  ter-

  * I shall notice this point more particularly at the conclusion of the sec
tion.
  t Fodere, vol.4, p. 196.
  j Morgagni, vol. 2, epist. 59, p. 366. 
POISONS.
141
iniuatiou.  Dr. Petit,  of Lyons, relates of a person
who survived after taking half an ounce of arsenic,
and he attributes this to the violent vomiting that en-
sued.  Deschamps gives an account of a female who
recovered after taking two drachms of tartar emetic.
which was followed by vomiting ; whilst another,
who by buying small quantities from  different apo-
thecaries, had obtained  eleven grains ofthe same salt,
died from using it.*  It is probable that large doses
produce their effects early and violently, and the sto-
mach endeavours to reject them as soon as perceived,
while small ones seem to have time to act not only on
the system generally,   but also on  the  structure  of
parts.
  A minute and accurate notice of symptoms is hence
worthy of every  attention, but it only forms the com-
mencement of  the enquiry in cases of supposed  poi-
soning.
   It  is the further duty of the physician to examine
every article of  a suspicious  nature,  such  as phials,
boxes, or papers containing powders.  These should
be carefully put aside without remark.  If the patient
preserve  his senses, we may obtain much necessary
information from him, and possibly may also procure
the remainder of the drink or substance that  he has
not completely taken.   If this  he impracticable, the
matter vomited should  he preserved, as also the linen
or sponges used  to collect the fluid which may have
been  deposited on the floor of the chamber, and a suf-
ficient quantity should be sealed up, and reserved for
the inspection of a competent chemist.
   For a proper  analysis of the matter vomited—of
the matter found  in  suspected  repositories, or  the

  * A still more striking case  was mentioned in a Boston paper of  the
month of February, 1817.  A man named George Beals, aged 21, and resi-
ding at Springfield, Mass. with an intent to destroy himself, swallowed at
one draught, an ouuee and a half of arsenic, immediately after having eaten
a hearty supper of beefsteaks.  He was seized instantly with violent vomit-
ing, and was subsequently affected with spasm, but was restored to his usual
health in three or four days. In about a  month after, he destroyed himself
t>y hanging 
142
POISONS.
 matter found in the stomach or intestines, or both,
 after death, the  following  preliminary directions re-
 quire attention.  Never make any experiments on the
 suspected substance,  without repeating them on in-
 gredients that are deemed  analogous,  and  in which
 the quantity of poisonous matter is ascertained.  For
 this purpose, several  solutions should  be made of
 substances which  it is supposed may probably re-
 semble the poison  given, and  from the result, a com-
parison can be instituted.   Again, the analysis should
never be commenced until  the tests are all prepared,
aud their accuracy determined.  The order of  pro-
ceeding should be  previously laid down in the mind
of the operator, and when ready, he should perform
the experiments at one time.  The risk of losing  a
part of the suspected substance, from employing in-
conclusive experiments,  is thus  avoided.   Thirdly,
if the  quantity  of matter  received be sufficient, it
should be divided into small portions, so that the va-
rious tests can be applied to each, but if there be only
a very small quantity,  the symptoms should be care-
fully  considered, together  with the indications  they
present,  and an opinion should be formed  as to the
poison which most probably has caused the present
disease.   The tests applicable to it, should then he
employed.  In pursuing this examination, it is  of
little importance, comparatively speaking, whether a
decisive opinion  can be formed as to the quantity ad-
ministered : it is  sufficient  to prove the  nature and
quality of the substance.*
   Chemistry can thus lend its aid in detecting mineral
substances, but it is insufficient in  determining whe-
ther a vegetable poison has been taken.   In such in-
stances, a conclusion should be formed from the train
of symptoms that are present, and the substance itself
may also be evaporated, to  ascertain the presence of
resin or extractive  matter.  This is generally all that
botany or chemistry can  do,  since although the  ulti-
* Fodere, vol. 4, p. 199, 200, 201 
poisons.                  143
mate principles of vegetables be obtained, yet there is
no certainty whether they belong to  noxious or in-
noxious plants, except possibly in cases where the
poison is of a ligneous nature, such as mushrooms, or
where grains or berries are vomited.*
  The  kitchen utensils  should always be noticed,
since it may happen that a copper vessel badly tinned
is the sole cause of these violent effects, and we should
also remember, that the green colour which is fre-
quently observed  in the matter vomited, may be ow-
ing to vitiated bile,  as well as to a mineral or vege-
table poison.
  It is an ancient direction, that part of the suspected
substance should be given to some animal, in  order
to test  its  injurious nature.  But the uncertainty of
this proof has been  shown in a former page, where it
was mentioned, that many articles poisonous to man,
are innoxious to animals, and it is therefore a point of
considerable interest Jo ascertain on which of them it
is most likely to produce effects similar to what it
does on man.   Physiologists generally recommend a
dog as  the subject, and Orfila says it  should be a
small,  robust one, that  is fasting.   The  suspected
substance should not be put into his  food, as is the
ordinary practice, nor indeed should he be allowed to
swallow it.   This would produce the hazard of los*
ing the whole by vomiting ; and  he  hence advises,
that the oesophagus should be detached, and perfo-
rated with a small hole.   Into  this a glass funnel is
to be introduced, and the liquid  poured through it
into the stomach.   The cesophagus is then tied below
the opening.   If the substance be solid, it should  be
put into a small paper cone, in  order  that  it may  be
pushed  down  into the stomach through the opening.
This, he adds, is the only method by which vomiting
can be prevented, and the suspected substance exhibit
its  true character.f  The testimony to be derived

  * Mahon, vol. 2. p. 301.
  t Orlila, vol. 2, p. 532.  It has been objected to this mode of experimen-
ting, that the operation on the cesophagus will destroy life,  or produce al- 
144
POISON > =
 from this proof of poisoning, is, however, barely pre-
 sumptive.  The poisonous substance may be decom-
 posed in the stomach of the patient by food or anti-
 dotes—it may have been rejected by vomiting, or it
 may have been  absorbed, so  as to leave  a  minute
 quantity  in  the intestinal canal: and  in  all these
 cases, the animal will  probably  escape uninjured.
 " Experiments  of this  kind, separately considered,
 possess no value, only as they present a positive  re-
 sult, that is to say, death ;  but Ave repeat again, they
 ought not to be regarded, even when well made, ex-
 cept as a secondary means, proper for corroborating
 the conclusions  drawn from chemical analysis, symp-
 toms, and lesions of texture."*
  It must also be recollected, in connection with the
 circumstance under notice, that the human fluids, and
 particularly the bile, may, from disease, acquire such
 an acrimony as  to  be fatal  to  animals.  Morgagni
 relates a remarkable instance of. this kind.  A child
 died of tertian fever, after having suffered violent con-
 vulsions.   On dissection, the stomach was found to
contain green bile, which tinged the scalpel of a violet
colour.   Having dipped the point of his instrument
in the bile, he wounded two pigeons, who expired
almost instantly in violent convulsions ;  and some of
 it, mixed with bread, was given to a cock, who also
 expired in a short time.f
  Until  now, I have considered the  subject of poi-
soning persons in a state of health.   I may add, that
this  is  often  attempted  on individuals who are ill,
and  the difficulty of  distinguishing the symptoms of
disease from  those  of poison is proportionably in-
creased.   It  may be said, that the  disease has taken

teratiom of texture, but our author shows by numerous examples, that
the ligature on this part in clogs, constantly produces, during the two first
days,  nothing more than a slight fever, and a little dejection,  which is
incapable of  destroying them in so short a time ; and also, that if animals
be killed when in this state, no lesions will be discovered on dissection.
If poisons, on the contrary, beintroduced through the opening, their effect-
will be p.arly manifested.  Vol. 2, p. 482.
  * Orfila, vol. 2, p. 535.
  , .Moi'iagni, vol. 2, epist. 59, p. 396. 
POISONS.
145
a  sudden turn—that the medicines used have been
prejudicial,  and that present appearances are a con-
vulsive or final effort of the  system.  In  such  cases,
attention to the following circumstances is required :
   1. The sudden occurrence of symptoms which do
not usually accompany the disease under which the
patient labours.  Thus, we  should feel suspicious, if
in an ordinary case,  nausea, vomiting, hiccup, faint-
ings, cold sweats, with bloody stools, should sudden-
ly and rapidly follow each other;  or again, if stertor,
delirium, or insanity should supervene on a case of
common disease.
   2. Moral circumstances.   The physician should
never allow these to prejudice his mind, but he should
never neglect noticing them.   And  I take this early
occasion to say,  that the physician is of  all  persons,
the best judge  concerning them.   Let him ascertain
whether an enmity does  not exist between  the sick
person  and some one who attends  or visits him ; if
so, enquire whether any poisonous substances have
lately been purchased—whether these are still  in the
house—whether the alarming symptoms came on im-
mediately after taking a drink,  or any other substance
of an innocent  nature—and particularly, ascertain
whether any thing has been given  without the orders
of the physician, or by a person ignorant of medica-
ments.
   A case or two will illustrate the subject before us.
An individual  aged  fifty-six  years, and subject to
flatulence, took a bowl of chocolate and milk previous
to starting on a  journey.  It  was prepared by his
daughter.  He had advanced  a very short distance,
when he was seized with nausea, vomiting, and other
severe symptoms, which obliged him to return  home,
and his death followed in nine hours after taking the
chocolate.  His body  was  not inflated—his visage
was natural, but the nails  were blue,  and on his
shoulders and breast were spots  of the same colour.
This  disease  was considered cholera morbus,  but
Hoffman, from whom the narrative is taken, believed
  vol. ii.                 19 
146                  poisons.
it  to be the effect of arsenic rather than cholera, and
for the following reasons : the symptoms which fol-
lowed the use of the drink, such as copious vomiting,
accompanied with a cadaverous paleness of the face,
coldness of  the extremities,  great prostration  of
strength, poignant lancinating pain in the  intestines,
and the cessation of arterial action, and convulsions,
all succeeded each other with greater rapidity than is
observed in ordinary cholera morbus.  Again, the
daughter was at enmity with the father,  who had
punished her for living with her valet, and it was also
known that she had previously purchased arsenic*
   In another case,  an  individual in ill  health took
some jelly, which his wife gave him to allay a  colic.
He felt nausea in a short time—breathed  with diffi-
culty—experienced severe pain in his stomach—vo-
mited with great exertion a greenish bile, and finally
died at the end of two days.  He  was buried on the
third  day after  his decease,  but  was disinterred  in
twenty-four hours thereafter, from a suspicion that he
had been  poisoned  by  his wife.  Putrefaction had
advanced rapidly—the body was much swollen—the
jejunum, mesentery, liver and lungs, were  in a state
of sphacelus—the heart  was filled  with black blood,
resembling ink, and the  stomach  was in a gangrenous
state near the pylorus,  and contained a greenish co-
loured nfatter.  Under these circumstances, the ques-
tion of poisoning was supposed to be settled, and the
woman was considered guilty.   Hoffman,  however,
thought otherwise,  from the following facts :  the
man had been ill for more than a  year—his appetite
was bad, and his strength impaired.   On the morn-
ing ofthe day when he took the jelly, he complained
of severe colic pains, and swallowed  a large glass  of
brandy.  After this, his wife had given him the jelly,
and finding no benefit  from it,  he had  again taken
brandy, which also contained some heating substances.
From this history, and also from knowing of no mo
* F. Hoffman's Opera Omnia, vol. 3, sect. 2, chap. 8, p. 170. 
POISONS.
147
val circumstances against  his wife, Hoffman believed

that  the disease alone would  account for  ail these

symptoms.*
   These narratives  will serve  as illustration  of the

comparison that should be  made between the symp-

toms  present, and  those  that  ordinarily accompany

the  supposed disease.   They  are, however, greatly

defective in other respects, inasmuch  as dissection  in

the one instance, and  chemical analysis in both,  ap-

pear to have  been omitted.
   If difficulties and doubts envelope  the discovery of

poisons, whose distinguishing character is the  rapidi-

ty of their effects,  how much greater  must be the un-

certainty when we are  required to ascertain the ad-

ministration of  what are  called slow poisons.   This

subject  indeed is so closely  entwined  with popular

superstition,  that it is difficult to seperate truth from
falsehood.   In Italy,  for example,   it was  formerly

said that poisons were invented to destroy life at any

stated period—from a few hours to  a year.f  This


  " Hoffman ut supra, p. 171.  Both these cases are quoted by Fodere ;
and this author relates an instance within his own observation,  where the
exhibition of a dose  of epsom salts was ordered by the physician, and the
husband gave it to his wife. It was followed by all the symptoms of nar-
cotic poison, and death ensued in a short time.  From his libidinous habits
and the symptoms present, there was no question that he intended to pois-
on her,  and accordingly had substituted opium.   Fodere,  vol. 4, p. 212.
The duty ofthe physician is certainly very clear in these cases.
  t We are indebted to Professor Beckmann for a very elaborate article on
this subject, in which he has concentrated nearly all  that is known concern-
ing secret poisoning.  Of this, I shall present an abstract,  aided with some
facts from other sources.  He considers it unquestionable, that the ancients
were acquainted with this kind of poison, and  thinks it may be proved from
the testimony of Plutarch, Quintillian, and other respectable authors.  The
former states that a ?low poison,  which occasioned  heat, a cough, spitting
of blood, a consumption, and  a weakness of intellect, was administered to
Aratus of Sicyon.   Theophrastus speaks of a poison  prepared from aconite,
which could be moderated in  such a manner as to  have effect  in two or
three months, or at the end of  a year, or two years ; and he also relates,
that Thrasyas had discovered a method of preparing from other plants a
poison, which,  given in small  doses, occasioned an  easy but  certain death,
without any pain, and which could be kept back for a long time without
causing weakness or corruption.  This last poison was much  used at Rome,
about two hundred years before the Christian ijera.  At a later period, a fe-
male named Locusta, was the agent in preparing these poisons, and she de-
stroyed in this way, at the instigation of Nero, Britannicus, the son of  Ag-
grippina.
  The Carthaginians seem also  to have been acquainted with  the art ot
misoning ; and they are said, on the authority of Aulus Gellius, to have 
148                      poisons.
  however is a mere  fiction,  and it is now well under-

  stood, that we know of no substances which  will pro-

  duce death at a  determinate epoch.   But I shall have

  occasion  in the next section,  when stating the case of

  the late  Prince  Charles,  of  Augustenberg,  to show

  that  the  idea of slow  poison is still prevalent,  even

  among the physicians of continental Europe.


 administered some to Regulus, the Roman general. Cotemporary writers;
 however, it must be added, do not mention this.
   The principal poisons known to the ancients, were prepared from plants,
 and particularly aconite, hemlock  and poppy, or from animal substances,
 and among the latter, none is more remarkable than that obtained from the
 sea-hare, (Lepusmarinus,or Aplysia depilansof  theSystema Natura.) With
 this, Titus is >nid to have been dispatched by Domitian.  They do not seem
 to have been acquainted with the common mineral poisons.
   In the year lr»59, during the pontificate of Alexander VII. it was observ-
 ed at Rome,  that many young married women became widows, and that
 many husbands died when they became disagreeable to their wives.  The
 government <ised great vigilance to detect the  poisoners,  and suspicion at
 length fell upon a society of young wives, whose president appeared to be
 an old woman, who pretended to foretell  future events, and who had often
 predicted very exactly  the death  of many persons. By means <A a crafty
 female, their practices were detected—the whole society were arrested and
 put to the torture, and the old woman, whose  name was  Spara, and four
 others,  were publicly hanged.  This Spara was a  Sicilian, and is said to
 have acquired her knowledge from Tofania at Palermo.
   Topuania, or Tofania, was an infamous woman, who. resided first at Pa-
 lermo, and afterwards at Naples. She sold the poison, which from her ac-
 quired the name Aqua  della Toffana, (it was also called Acquetta di Napoli,
 or Acquetta alone,) but she distributed her preparation by way of charity to
 such wives as wished to have other husbands. From four to six drops were
 sufficient to destroy a man, and  it was asserted, that the dose could be so
 proportioned as to operate in a certain time.  Labat says, that Tofania dis-
 tributed her poison in small glass phials, with this inscription, Manna of St.
 Nicholas of Bari, and ornamented with the  image ofthe saint.   She lived
 to a great age, but was at last dragged from a monastery,  in which she had
 taken refuge,  and put to the torture, when she  confessed her crimes,  and
 was strangled.
   In no country, however, has the art of poisoning excited more attention
 than it did in France about the year 1670.  Margaret d'Aubray, wife of the
 Marquis  De  Brinvillier, was the principal agent in this horrible business.
 A needy adventurer,  named Godin De Sainte  Croix, had formed an ac-
 quaintance with the Marquis during their  campaigns in the Netherlands__
 became  in Paris a constant visitor at his  house, where in a short time he
 found means to insinuate himself into the  good  graces ofthe  Marchioness.
 It was not long before the Marquis died, not, however, until their joint for-
 tune was nearly dissipated.  Her conduct, iu openly carrying on this amour
 induced her father to have Sainte Croix arrested and sent to the Bastile!
 Here he got acquainted with an Italian, of the name of  Exili. from whom
 he learnt the art  of preparing poisons.  After a year's imprisonment, Sainte
 Croix was released, v. hen he flew to the Marchioness, and instructed her
 in the art, in order that she might employ it in bettering the circuinstunces
 of both.  She assumed the appearance of a nun, distributed food to the
 poor, nursed the sick in the Hotel Dieu, and tried the strength of her pois-
 ons undetected  on these hapless wretches.  She bribed one Chausse>
Sainte Croix's servant, to poison her own father, after introducing him into' 
POISONS.
149
   There is however a certain class of poisons, which

are  slower in their operations,  and may  hence  more

readily  be  confounded  with the  effects  of disease.

And  these belong to  the  astringent kind.    It is also

possible that  minute portions of the acrid  poisons ad-

ministered from time  to time, may gradually cause ir-

reparable injury to the digestive and lymphatic  sys-


bis service, and also her brother, and endeavoured to poison her sister.  A
suspicion arose that they had been poisoned, and the bodies were opened,
but no  detection followed at this time.  Their  villainous  practices were
brought to light in  the following  manner :  Sainte Croix,  when preparing
poison, was accustomed to wear a glass mask ;  but as this happened  once
to drop off by accident, he was suffocated, and found dead in his laborato-
ry.  Government caused the  effects of this man, who had no family, to be
examined, and a list of them to be made  out.  On  searching them, there
was found a small box, to which Sainte Croix had affixed a written request,
that after his death it might  be  delivered to the Marchioness De Brinvil-
lier, or in case she should not be living, that it might be  burnt.  This re-
quest was as follows : " I humbly beg that those into whose hands this box
may fall, will do  me the favour to deliver it into  the hands only ofthe
Marchioness De Brinvillier,  who resides in the Street Neuve St. Paul, as
every thing it contains concerns her, and belongs to her alone, and as be-
sides, there is nothing in it that can be of use to any person except her ; and
in case she shall be dead before me, to burn  it, and every thing it contains,
without opening or altering any thing; and in order that no one may plead
ignorance,  I  swear by the God whom I adore, and  all that is most sacred,
that I advance nothing but what  is true.   And if my intentions, just and
reasonable as they are, be thwarted in this point, I charge their consciences
with it, both in this world and the next, in  order that I may unload mine,
protesting that this is my last will.   Done at Paris, this 25th May, in the
afternoon, 1672.  De Sainte  Croix."  Nothing  could be a greater  induce-
ment to have it opened, than this singular petition, and that being done, there
was found in it a great abundance of poisons of every kind, with labels, on
which their effects, proved by experiment on animals, were marked.   The
principal poison, however, was corrosive sublimate. When the Marchio-
ness heard of the  death of her lover and  instructor, she was desirous to
have the casket, and endeavoured to get possession of it by bribing the offi-
cers of justice, but  as she failed in this,  she quitted  the kingdom.  La
Chaussee, however, continued at Paris, laid claim to the property of Sainte
Croix, was seized and imprisoned, confessed more acts of villainy than was
suspected, and was, in consequence, broken alive on the wheel, in 1673.
  The Marchioness fled to England, and from thence to Leige, where she
took refuge in a convent.   Desgrais, an officer of justice, was despatched in
pursuit of her, and having assumed the dress of an abbe, contrived to entice
her from this privileged place.  Among her effects at the convent, there
was found a confession, and a complete catalogue of all her crimes, in her
own hand-writing.   She was taken to Paris, convicted, and on the 16th oi
July, 1676, publicly beheaded, and afterwards burnt.
  The practice of poisoning was uot, however,  suppressed by this execu-
tion, and it was asserted, that confessions of a suspicious nature were con-
stantly made  to the priests.  A court for watching, searching after,  and
punishing  prisoners, was at  length established  in  1679, under the title of
Chambre de  poison, or Chambre ardente.  This was  shortly used as a state
engine against those who were obnoxious to tbe court, and  the names of
individuals of the first rank, both male and female, were prejudiced   Two 
150
POISONS.
tern, and finally destroy life.  In such cases, the phy-

sician should not mistake a disease or the effects of a

bad constitution,  for the consequences of the  exhibi-

tion of noxious substances.   The  symptoms of  the

individual  should be noticed  for a length of  time—

and the state  of his health previous to the last illness

should  be  well understood.   It is  also  important to


females, La Vigoreux and La Voisin, were burnt  alive by order of this
court, in Feb. 1680.  But it was abolished in the same year.
  Professor Beckmann relates the following, as communicated to  him by
Linnaeus : " Charles the XI. king of Sweden, having ruined several noble
families by seizing on their property, and having after that, made a journey
to Torneo, he  fell into a consumptive disorder, which no medicine could
cure.  One  day he asked his physician in a very earnest manner, what was
the  cause of his illness.  The physician replied, "Your majesty has been
loaded with too many maledictions."  " Yes,"  returned the king, " I wish
to God that the reduction ofthe nobility's estates had not taken place, and
that 1 had never undertaken a journey to Torneo."  After his death, his in-
testines were found to be full of small ulcers."
  There has been great diversity ofopiniou as to the nature of these  poisons.
That prepared by Tofania, appears to have been a clear insipid water, and
the  sale of aquafortis was for a long time forbidden in Rome, because it was
considered the  principal ingredient.  This, however, is not probuble.  In
Paris, the famous  poudre de succession, (also a  secret poison) was  at one
time supposed to consist of diamond dust,  pounded exceedingly fine ; and
 . t another, to contain sugar of lead, as the chief ingredient.  Haller was of
this last opinion.  In the casket of Sainte Croix, were found sublimate, opi-
um, regulus of antimony, vitriol, and a large quantity of poison ready pre-
pared, the principal ingredients of which the physicians were not able to
distinguish.  Garelli, physician to Charles VI.  king of the two Sicilies, at
the  time when Tofania was arrested, wrote to the celebrated Hoffman, that
tbe  Aqua Tofania was nothing else than crystallized arsenic, dissolved in a
large quantity of water by decoction, with the  addition, (but for what pur-
pose,  he knew not,)  of the  herb cymbalaria, (probably  the Antirrhinum
r.ymbalaria.) And this information, he observes, was  communicated to
him by his imperial majesty himself, to whom the judicial procedure, con-
firmed by the confession of the criminal, was transmitted. But it was ob-
jected to this opinion, that it differed from the ordinary effects of arsenic,
in never betraying itself by any particular action on  the human body.
  The Abbe Gagliani, on the other hand, asserts that it is a mixture of opi-
um  and cantharides, and that the liquor obtained from its composition, is as
limpid  as rock water, and without taste.  Its effects are slow, and almost
imperceptible.  Beckmann appears to favour this idea, and suggests that a
similar poison is used in the  east under the name of powst,  being water
which had stood a night over the juice of  poppies.  It is given to princes,
whom it is wished  to despatch privately, and produces loss of strength and
understanding,  so that they die in the end, torpid and insensible.  (Beck-
mann, vol. l,p. 74 to 103,  Smith; p. 195.  London  Monthly Mag.  vol. 14,
p. 515.   Metzger, p. 386, 402.)
  The following extract will show that secret poisoning has penetrated into
the  forests of our own country.  '; The celebrated chief, Black Bird, of the
Otnawhaws, gained great reputation as a medicine  man  ; his adversaries
fell rapidly before  his potent spells. His medicine was arsenic, furnished
him for this purpose by the villainy of the traders."  Major Long's Expedi-
fion.vol. 1, p. 226. 
POISOxXS.
151
ascertain whether some impropriety in food or uiedi
cine has not led to the present result, and a compari-
son may be made with the known effects of slow poi-
son—first a depraved and then a destroyed appetite
—weakness, marasmus, depression of spirits, a slow-
fever, chills and heat, &c.   Lastly, dissection should
exhibit appearances distintly referable to the suppos-
ed noxious cause.*
  Poisons  may also be administered to  several per
sons at once, as at an entertainment, and  the symp-
toms that follow,  be so various, as to render the cause
doubtful,  were it not understood that  such conse-
quences are of  frequent  occurrence.   1 shall endea-
vour to illustrate  this point by some cases.
  In the month of May, 1711, four individuals, viz.
a priest, two females, one of whom was his sister-in-
law, and another person, all in good health and on a
journey, stopped at an inn to dine.  They proceeded
on their journey after taking this  meal, but in a short
time the priest  was seized with such violent pain, a^
to oblige  him  to dismount from  his horse.   Copious
evacuations by vomiting and stool  succeeded, and
his illness  increased so rapidly,  that it  was found
necessary  to take  him back to  Cesenne,  the place
where they had  dined.   A physician was called in,
who conceiving the complaint to  be only an ordinary
colic,  treated it with fomentations,  glysters, purga-
tives and  anodynes.   During  this  time,  one of  the
females was   seized with  severe pain  and  weak-
ness,  accompanied with  copious evacuations.  The
fourth  person of the party  also  complained of pain
and  weight at the stomach ;  but notwithstanding this,
the physician had  no suspicion  of poison, since  the
other female was in perfect health,  and the landlord
protested that there could have been nothing noxious
in his dishes.   On the next day  they were all some-
what better, and were  enabled to  arrive at a  place

  * Foderc\ vol. 4, p. 226.  Mahon, vol. 2, p. 316.  Orfila, vol. 2, p. 552.
The latter relates some cases of slow poisoning, which I shall hereafter no-
tice when considering individual poisons. 
152                 poisons.
 near where  Morgagni resided,  for whom they im-
 mediately sent.  This great physician, having learnt
 the circumstances,  immediately  enquired whether
 there was not some  dish  on the table,  of which the
 female in good health  had not eaten.  He  was an-
 swered in the affirmative,  and it was ascertained to
 have been a large dish of rice, served up at first.   He
 settled in his own  mind, that there were poisonous
 materials in this dish, but the difficulty was, why the
 priest  who had eaten the least, should have suffered
 the most, while the female who had eaten a larger
 quantity was not so ill; and finally, that the fourth
 person who had eaten more than all the rest, had only
 some  pain  in  his  stomach.  Was  there not, said
 Morgagni, some cheese grated over this rice ? They
 answered in the affirmative, and the priest, who had
 little or no appetite,  ate scarcely any  thing but  the
 cheese ; the female ate both cheese and rice, while the
 other person ate the rice,  wit.i scarcely any cheese.
 Then said Morgagni, the state of the case is, that the
 cheese was  prepared with arsenic to kill rats, and
 not having been laid away with sufficient care, it was
 served up for your rice, while you where hurrying
 the  landlord for your  dinner.   This opinion was
 verified by the confession of the  landlord himself,
 who learning that the patients were out of danger,
 avowed that such was the cause of the accident.
   At a banquet, numerously attended,  a  dish was
 brought in during the desert, in which arsenic had
 been used  instead of meal.   Those of the guests who
 had eaten or drank  but little,  died in a few  hours,
 whilst  those who had eaten considerably, were saved
 by copious vomiting.   Some lived for several years,
 and when examined after  death,  the  cicatrices  of
 large ulcers were found in their stomachs.
  In another instance, a boy two years old, and two
 adult females, partook of some soup in which arsenic
 was mixed.   The boy took only two spoonfuls, but
it wras on an empty stomach ; whilst the females, who
had already eaten,  took the remainder of it.  They 
POISONS.
153
vomited  copiously, and  survived; whilst the other
did not vomit  and died, and on dissection, his sto-
mach was found ulcerated.*
  From  these,  and several other  cases  related by
Morgagni and Hoffman, Fodere draws the following
conclusions.   1. In  such instances,  the  physician
should enter into the most minute details concerning
every thing  that has passed at the meal.  Enquire
whether  every one eat from all  the  dishes, and  iu
what quantity—what kind of  meats were sat down,
and what wines  drunk.  2. That very  different ef-
fects ensue  from taking poison on an empty or  on  a
full stomach ; and hence  Baccius,  he says, recom-
mends to those who fear being poisoned at a banquet,
first to eat and drink a considerable quantity.   This
precaution was doubtless not an  idle one in some of
the capital cities of continental Europe, and one ef-
fect of it certainly is, that it protects the stomach to a
certain degree from the activity  of the  poison, and
also  facilitates vomiting.   The practice  of mounte-
banks, who pretend to  sell antidotes  to arsenic,  is
said  to be in conformity  with  this direction.  .They
first fill the  stomach with milk  or oily fluids, and then
swallow the arsenic in public.   In secret,  .however,
they shortly throw it  up  again,  and sometimes  it
proves fatal  when  retained  too long.  3. It may
sometimes be necessary to enquire of  what kind  of
dainties  the poisoned persons  were most fond,  since
murderers  have sometimes taken  advantage of  a
known partiality.  4.  It is evidently no reason that
a certain article of food or drink  is not poisonous, be-
cause some individuals have taken it without  incon-
venience.   We have already  seen the difference be-
 tween vomiting and not  vomiting.  The greater the
quantity of poison taken, the  more.is there a hope  of
 escaping ; whilst those who feel  no immediate ill ef-
fects, are often the earliest victims.  Both descriptions
 of persons should be examined, and the matter vomit-

   * Fodere, vol. 4, p. 242,244. These cases  are quoted from Morgagni~  ,
 de Causis et Sedibus Morbonm, epist. 59.
VOL.  II.
20 
154                   poisons.
ed  should be analyzed,  in order to detect the nature
of the poison.*
  It is a very difficult question to determine whether
poisoning is the result of  suicide or homicide.  We
can only  form an opinion from moral considerations,
and a notice of the following is recommended by Fo-
dere.   i  he previous state  of mind of the deceased—
whether he  has been subject to  delirium ; also if he
has not met with losses—has been disappointed in his
hopes, or is suffering under disgrace.  Also, whether
any ofthe persons with whom he lived or associated,
had any interest  in  his death.   The season  of the
year also deserves consideration.  He observes, that
suicides  are most frequent during the period  of the
solstices and the equinoxes.   We should also ascer-
tain whether the patient, instead of complaining, re-
mains quiet, seeks  solitude, and refuses the aid  of
medical men and of medicines.   Any kind of writing
left  by the individual, to express his last wishes, as
it is the most common, so it  is also the most certain
proof of  self-destruction.   But the finding a part  of
the poison in the room or in  his pockets,  is evidently
a very equivocal proof,  since  it may quite as easily
be put there by others  as by himself.f
   It may sometimes  happen that a false accusation of
poisoning is brought,  and that great illness is pre-
tended.   In such instances, the complainer should be
tested by the rules already laid down, and a long ex-
amination will scarcely ever be necessary in order to
develope the deceit.
   I shall conclude this section with a notice  of the
diseases and symptoms that are most likely to be mis-
taken for the effect of poisons ;  and they probably are
idiosyncracy, indigestion,  and sudden illness.

  * Fodere, vol. 4. p. 240 to 248.  Orfila, vol. 2, p. 548.
  1 Fodere, vol. 4, p. 248.  Smith, p. 274.  Metzger observes, " La seule
presomption physique,  (of suicide) est la quantite considerable du poison
englouti, dont le gout nauseabond eut certainement excite" le vomissement,
s'il eut ete administre par une main  etrangere. Lps poisons vegetaux en-
trainent presque toujours l'idee d imprudence, etexcluent consequemment,
dansle plus grand nombre des cas, celle de suicide ; l'opiumseul est com«
muniment mis avec connoissanee de cause en usage." P. 148. 
POISONS.
155
  Idiosyncracy is an inexplicable circumstance in the
animal economy, but however extraordinary it may
appear at first sight, yet it is no less true that indivi-
duals will have an antipathy to some particular ar-
ticle of  diet;  and  in some  instances, the bare seeing
of it, and in others the eating of it,  produces the most
alarming consequences.   Cheese, and various other
articles  have produced such effects.   But  the  most
striking cases of resemblance to the effects of  poison,
probably occur in those who, after being long accus-
tomed to a particular species of food, for the first time
use another kind.   The town of Martigues in  France
is almost altogether inhabited by fishermen,  who have
lived on fish since their infancy.  Fodere, during the
first year of his residence there, often prescribed meat
soups to his sick, but in every instance, their adminis-
tration was followed by violent nausea and  vomiting.
They confessed  that  it was the first time  they had
used any aliment prepared from meat.
  Next as to  indigestion.  Extraordinary  instances
will often occur, in which symptoms the most violent
and uncommon,  suddenly exhibit themselves.  This
is particularly the  case with those  who live in a lux-
urious  manner, eat mushrooms and truffles, or shell
fish, in peculiar seasons of the year.  A violent pain
comes on, the stomach  is  attacked with spasmodic
constriction, green matter is vomited,  and we would
certainly believe a poison had been maliciously ad-
ministered, did we not know how vitiated the bile
may become, and what powerful efforts are necessary
in a weak stomach to throw off indigestible  food.  It
is proper to recollect that such symptoms may occur
even in the midst of a repast, and caution is  hence re-
quired,  so as  not to confound  the cause with the ef-
fects of poison.
  On the subject of sudden illness and death, more
will be said  in the  next section.  At present, the fol-
lowing  circumstances may be  recommended as wor-
thy of attention.   1. The season of the  year and the
prevailing epidemic.  Thus cholera morbus rages in 
156                  poisons.
the summer and autumn, and as colic and vomiting
may then be said to be epidemic,  we would  not ot
course be so much surprised at their suddpn appear-
ance, as if they came on in winter.  2. The former
habits  of the patient;  his  mode of life and state of
health  should be ascertained, and we should learn it
possible, whether he has no concealed disease,  hud-
den death is sooner to be expected in a valetudina-
rian, than in one who has previously enjoyed pertect
health.   3. We should notice whether fever be pres-
ent or not.  It is an uncommon circumstance, that in-
ternal  disease of a fatal kind, and of the nature we
are now noticing, is present without more or less fever.
Poisons, however,  during their first operation, arc
not accompanied with it.*

        2. Signs of poison on the dead body.
   In many instances,  the  medical examiner  is not
called  until the stage now about  to be considered.
The illness may have been sudden and rapid ;  it may
have been  difficult to procure medical aid, and thus
the opportunity has been lost of comparing the  symp-
toms with  the  appearances found on dissection.  If
such be the case, he should be guided solely  by the
phcenomena that present themselves during  the in-
spection.
   In addition  to the rules  already laid  down in a
former chapter concerning medico-legal dissection, it
is proper to observe,  that the mouth, larynx and tra-
chea should be examined—and after opening the ab-
domen, the liver should, be raised, so as to view its
concave surface, the gall-bladder and a portion of the
stomach.  The  spleen,  pancreas, intestinal  canal
and mesentery, should all be noticed.   Ligatures are
then to be applied to the oesophagus and rectum, and
the  parts included within  them removed  from the
body.   This  precaution is absolutely necessary to
' Fodere, vol. 4, p. 289 to 297. 
                     poisons.                  157

prevent the loss of any fluids contained in the alimen-
tary canal.                ■..-.■,,■.
  After being thus  removed, it  should be  opened
throughout its whole extent, and the fluids and solids
contained in it should be collected in proper vessels.
The whole internal  surface  must then be washed
with distilled water, which must likewise be preserv-
ed.  The lesions observed should be noted and all
the inflamed  or gangrenous portions detached with a
scalpel  If there be any perforations, the parts round
the holes  should be taken out and the solid portions
preserved in alkohol.  And it is highly important, in
this case, previously to absorb with a sponge all the
fluid contained in the abdomen,  and afterwards to
deposit it  in proper receptacles for future analy-
sis.*
   This examination should be made in the presence
of a magistrate, and every fact should be recorded by
a secretary in the order of its notice.
   The next  subject of inquiry is, the class of poisons
which the appearances on dissection seem to indicate.
   The corrosive or acrid poisons, generally produce
inflammation of the first passages, constrictions  of the
intestinal canal, gangrene, sphacelus and perforations
of the parts.   The inflammation however varies as to
extent and intensity.  Sometimes it affects the mouth,
oesophagus,  and more particularly the  stomach,  and
extends  to the duodenum, while in others it reaches
through the whole space of the digestive tube. Again,
the membranes  are sometimes of a clear red colour,
without any trace of ulceration, sometimes of a cherry
red,  with longitudinal  or transverse  patches of a
blackish  colour, formed by extravasated blood be-
 tween the coats.  Ulcerations are observed in various
 parts, but particularly near the pylorus.
   Another character of these classes of  poisons, is the
 separation ofthe mucous or villous coat  ofthe stomach
 from the muscular,  in such a manner that it and the
"■ Orfila, vol. 1, p. 72. vol. 2, p. 619. 
158                   poisons.
serous  remain perfectly isolated.   Hebenstreit men-
tions this as a striking proof, and his opinion is adopt-
ed and advocated by Mahon and others.*  The lat-
ter remarks, that such a separation cannot take place,
without some corrosive substance has been applied to
the internal surface of the stomach, for it is impossible
to believe that putrefaction could produce such an ef-
fect,  and the folds and rugosities of the internal  coat
would not permit this sudden separation  except from
some powerful cause.f   He therefore  insists on it as
a most positive proof,  and his  opinion has  met with
the acquiescence of Fodere and Orfila.
   Again, the action  of these poisons is sometimes  ex-
tended  to the other viscera, and the skin  becomes co-
vered with black spots, resembling gangrene.   Mor-
gagni mentions  the  case  of a  woman poisoned with
arsenic, and  who  had experienced very little pain
from  it,  whose  body,  notwithstanding, was entirely-
black after death, on its posterior surface from head
to foot, while the  lungs  were gangrenous, and  the
stomach and duodenum perforated.J   In general, the
lungs are of a deeper red  than  in  the  natural state,
and it is not uncommon to find in them a bloody  se-
rosity.
   These are the ordinary effects of corrosive or acrid
poisons. ||  The variations occasionally observed, we
shall hereafter notice, but it is  proper to  add  in  this
place a remark from  Baillou. He states, that in cases
of sudden death, poison is often deemed the  cause, if
on dissection the left side of the lower part  of  the
stomach contains dark-coloured spots.    But this

  * " Gorrosiva venena—ilium rodunt, dissecant, vulnerant, et primarie
quidem illam ejus internam tunicam, qua? villosa dicitur, destruunt, atque
ab substrata altera, vasculari  seu nervea dicta, avellunt," &c.  Hebenstreit,
p. 498.
  t Mahon, vol. 2, p. 289. He suggests that similar appearances may pos-
sibly be observed on the crisis of certain atrabiliary diseases ; but in this in-
stance, the previous symptoms of the patient, with the correspondent le-
sions found on dissection, will readily distingnish the cause.
  X Morgagni, vol. 2, epist. 59, p. 367.
  || Fodere, vol. 4, p. 262.  Orfila, vol. 1, p.  15. vol. 2, p. 98,520.  The last
author has conclusively proved,  that corrosive and acrid poisons produce
lesions  of texture precisely alike. 
poisons.                 159
should not be attributed to external causes, since it is
caused by the blood itself which settles in the branch-
es of  the vasa brevia at death.   On  the other hand,
however, the slightest and smallest holes or erosions
in the stomach  should be carefully examined; and
this will be  best effected by holding the viscus be-
tween the eye and the light, as  by doing so, many
apertures  in its  substance  have been found, which
otherwise would elude observation.*
   The effects of narcotic poisons, are generally stated
to be the following :  a rapid tendency to putrefaction,
evidenced by large spots on the skin, of a red or livid
colour ; a red, swollen, nr livid countenance; flexible
extremities ; the blood in a fluid state, and effused in
various parts, and the stomach  and intestines touched
with sphacelus,  without any inflammation.f  Orfila,
contradicts  the correctness of  several of these.   He
has frequently observed, that putrefaction was not ad-
vanced more than usual at twenty-four, or even  thir-
ty-six hours after death ; that the limbs were as stiff'
as in  those who had been poisoned by substances of
another class,  and that the blood was coagulated  a
short time after death.  On dissection, no traces of
inflammation were found by him  in  the digestive ca-
nal of animals killed by narcotics, and he attributes
such  appearances to the subsequent administration of
substances capable of producing inflammation.  The
lungs, however, present almost constantly livid and
even  black spots, and their texture is more dense and
less crepitating.   The brain also often exhibits  dis-
tention of its veins.$
   As to the narcotico-acrid, it may be remarked, that
there are some which are capable of exciting a severe
inflammation,  accompanied with  ulceration or  gan-
grene,  while  others do not inflame.   The lungs,
blood, brain, and other organs, present, in general,
the same alterations as are induced by the narcotics.
   The astringent poisons, of which lead is the pri-
* Fodere, vol. 4, p. 269.
t Orfila, vol. 2, p. 171, 522.
t Ibid. p. 258. 
160                 POISONS.
mary one, when taken in the form of salts, produce
inflammation of greater or less vehemence, and some-
times black points or spots are  seen, caused by the
extravasation of venous blood.  Saturnine  emana-
tions, on the contrary, produce no inflammation, but
the intestinal canal,  and particularly the colon, is
contracted in its diameter.
   The reader must not,  however, suppose, that  the
lesions now described, are the  invariable results of
the respective kinds of poison.   On the contrary, a
great variety in this respect has been noticed.   Thus
Marc, in a case of poisoning by arsenic,  found  the
membranes of the stomach  thickened instead of  ero-
ded*  And  what is still more extraordinary, there
have been cases where the  exhibition  of acrid  and
corrosive  poisons have left no  marks of disease in
the stomach or intestinal canal.  Morgagni, Wep-
fer and  Brunner, mention  instances of this nature,
and Sauvages speaks of a person who died suddenly
after a violent epileptic fit,  from swallowing fifteen
berries of the sumach.  Ten were ejected by vomit-
ing,  and the remaining five were found in the stom-
ach after death.   Notwithstanding this,  the stomach
exhibited no marks of lesion, nor was any other part
of the body diseased.  Etmuller mentions the follow-
ing remarkable  occurrence.  A young  girl having
taken arsenic, vomited considerably during the night,
and on the next morning was found dead.  The skin
was of a livid blue colour, but no appearances of dis-
ease could be found on dissection. There was no in-
flammation or gangrene present, yet in the stomach a
white powder was observed, which, on being thrown
on the coals, gave out a thick smoke with an arsen-
ical odour.   Powders containing a similar substance
were found in the house, part of which was given to a
dog, with fatal effects, and on dissection the stomach
was  found extensively inflamed.  It is  conjectured
by the reporter,  that the  poison having been taken
* Marc, p. 66 
poisons.                 161
on a full stomach,  may have  prevented its usual
chemical action.*
   It has been supposed,  in explanation of these ano-
malies, that such poisons as are  tiven in the form of
powder, will more readily cause destructive effects ou
the stomach, than those which are soluble   We are,
however, not  in possession of sufficient facts to ex-
plain satisfactorily the great variety that is occasion-
ally observed ;  and experiments, so far as they have
proceeded, do not permit us to assign that as the ge-
neral cause, f
   Having examined the stomach and intestines, and
noted their appearance, the next circumstance that re-
quires attention, is the collecting of the poison (if there
be any) from those  organs.   And  it  is in this direc-
tion that modern medical jurisprudence so much ex-
ceeds ancient forms.  Nothing can be stronger proof,
uothing will convict the criminal in a more satisfactory
manner, than the discovery of the poison in the body
ofthe deceased, and the subsequent detection of it b^
chemical tests.
   Iu a number, possibly in a majority of  cases, this
search  will be unsuccessful, and the cause of this has
been already  intimated.  Murder is attempted by
administering large doses of  poison, and in some in-
dividuals, these produce copious vomitings, which in-
deed is often assisted by the deceased  drinking co
piously.  Hence the chance of finding  the  poison is
diminished,  as it may have been  rejected.   But all
the solid or fluid substances that are  found, should be
collected with care, preserved in proper vessels,  and
transmitted to a competent chemist, for deliberate ex-
 amination.  The distilled water with which the in^
 ternal surface of the stomach  is  washed, also requires
 investigation.^

   * Fodere, vol. 4, p. 272, 273.
   t Orfila, vol.2, p.621.
   X It is not necessary in this place to advert to the various tests, as these
 will be particularly mentioned under the head of mineral poisons, and I shall
 conclude the notice of that class by a classification ofthe results to be de-
 duced from them.
     VOL. II.              SI 
162                  poisons.
   While chemistry can thus aid in detecting mineral
poisons, it is of comparatively little value in discern-
ing the  nature of vegetable substances.  The form,
colour  and  smell of the supposed poison, should,
however, be noticed,  and it is possible that traces of
it  may  remain in the stomach,  but slightly  altered
from their natural state.   By a comparison with  the
previous symptoms,  and by submitting these to the
inspection of a skilful botanist,  we may possibly  ar-
rive at  the  truth.  In all cases, the  medical jurist
should recollect, that he has but half  performed his
duty, if he does not  call to his assistance all  that
knowledge which  attention to particular sciences can
afford.   If he does not avail himself of it, he may rest
assured that the criminal will escape,  to the discom-
fiture of the ends of justice, and the  disgrace of the
profession.
   Having already mentioned the animal to which it
will be proper to administer a portion of the noxious
substance, it is only necessary to add,  that soon after
its  death, the stomach should be examined, and a
statement taken of the lesions that are observed.
   All the dissections of which we  have spoken, will
be most  satisfactory and conclusive, if the examina-
tion be made in as short a time as possible after death,
since putrefaction generally commences in the viscera
of the  abdomen—the very  organs that require  the
most critical examination.   It is difficult, in cases of
incipient or actual gangrene,  to  distinguish  the spots
or blotches produced by it, from those that are caused
during life.   Mahon, however, suggests the following
distinction, which is evidently founded in truth. " If
the stomach  preserves its natural colour,  and  the
spots on it are marked with red, while the borders of
ulcers are also of a vivid  or pale red colour, we  are
sure that the cause has operated during life; but if
the stomach  and its  spots  are  livid  and pale,  we
should attribute the appearance  to putrefaction, and
attach no value to it."*
* Mahon, vol. 2, p, 315. 
POISONS.
i6a
  Notwithstanding these difficulties,  it is a common
occurrence, that the bodies of persons supposed to be
poisoned, are dug up several days after death, for ex-
amination.   In such  cases, before investigating the
particular instance, the season of the year, its dryness
or humidity, the winds, and indeed every thing that
can be more or less favourable to the  preservation of
dead bodies,  should  be considered.   It is certainly
established beyond a doubt,  that a body buried for a
length of time will  be more free  from putrefaction,
than another that has been kept unburied for the same
space.  It  may also happen, that the poison  given
has been of a drying nature, and of a kind that seems
to delay decomposition.  Corrosive sublimate is said
to do this, and if we notice any thing of such a nature,
it should be mentioned in the report.   As  a general
rule, the examination of bodies in this situation should
not be totally  neglected. The medical jurist has only
a more difficult task  to perform.   He must state the
circumstances that are present—mention the progress
of putrefaction, and clearly explain in what respects
it prevents the examination from being satisfactory or
conclusive.
   Nor must it be forgotten,  that the use of  some in-
nocent substances during life, may cause appearances
of a suspicious nature, and which therefore strongly
illustrate the necessity of understanding the previous
history ofthe patient.   The following case from Fo-
dere, will tend to illustrate this remark.  A person at
Chalons surMarne, was just recovering from a severe
sickness, and during his convalescence, took a gentle
laxative, after the operation of  which, he suddenly
died.   He  was supposed to  have  been  poisoned
through the negligence of the apothecary, and  to as-
certain this, the body was opened.   The stomach and
oesophagus were found red, and in some places livid,
and  resembling gangrene.   Here the investigation
stopped, aud the patient was looked upon as evident:
ly  poisoned.   M. Varnier, a physician at Chalons,
knowing the exactness and prudence of the apothe- 
1G4                  poisons.
cary, felt, however, strong doubts  concerning the
cause of death, and on reflection, determined that the
convalescence had been  only an insidious respite.
But it was necessary to assign a reason for the colour
of the cesophagus and stomach, and  having learnt
that  the deceased  had been in the habitual use of a
strong infusion of red poppies (coquelicots) for some
time,  the idea struck him that this might be the cause.
To ascertain the fact, he gave  a similar infusion  to a
dog for some  time, and on dissection, found that the
organs above mentioned  were precisely of the same
colour as on the body of the person  supposed to  be
poisoned.   So deep  yideed was it, that it resisted re-
peated ablutions.*
  This  case  teaches us a useful lesson in legal me-
dicine, viz. that the fluids and solids may be coloured
by various alimentary substances or medicaments, if
their use be  long persisted in ;  and  it also  gives  a
caution, not  to depend too much on a single pheno-
menon, but to view all the known facts in connection,
and then deduce a judgment from them.
  In the general remarks on poisons, it was mention-
ed that  they  might be introduced into the  system by
means of injection, and I repeat it at this time, for the
purpose of enforcing the direction of examining the
whole intestinal canal  from  the mouth to the rectum.
If this noxious substance be thrown up in  the above
manner, it will of course be in  vain to look for its in-
dications in the stomach or smaller intestines.
  The wife of a receiver general of taxes in the  de-
partment of Arriege, was attacked some years  since
(in 1807) with a slight illness,   which rapidly termi-
nated in a severe and fatal one.  On dissection, the
intestines were found in a state of high  inflammation.
A servant girl was arrested on suspicion, and it ap-
peared that she  had mixed twenty-four grains of tar-
tar emetic in the tisan or drink of  her mistress,  and
afterwards had boiled an ounce of arsenic with  the.
* Fodere, vol. 4, p. 282. 
POISONS.
165
liquid prepared for an injection.  Previous to her ex-
ecution, she confessed, that not finding the tartar em-
etic sufficiently active, she administered the arsenic*
   But there is a more difficult case, somewhat  con-
nected with this point, which deserves the most deli-
berate investigation.  It is the atrocious villainy  of
introducing a poisonous substance after death, with a
view of accusing  an innocent person of the crime.
Such an act is said  to have  been committed in Swe-
den, and it will readily occur, that if a corrosive sub-
stauce be injected per ano, it may leave an inflamma-
tion sufficiently marked  to  lead the uninformed ob-
server to the  supposition that murder has been per-
petrated.
   So important a subject has not escaped the investi-
gation of Orfila.   He  instituted  experiments  with
corrosive substances on  the dead bodies of men and
dogs, and  the result has established certain definite
and fixed characters.f   Several dogs were hung, and
a short time after death a quantity of corrosive  subli-
mate, in  the form of powder, and in small fragments,
was introduced into the rectum.  Ou examination, the
mucous coat of the intestine near the anus, exhibited
 several folds of  a clear rose colour, but immediately
 above them, the rectum was of  its  natural colour,  so
 that there  was a line of demarcation perfectly estab-
 lished between the parts to which  the sublimate had
 been applied, and those which had not been in contact
 with it.  The same experiment performed on a living
 dog,  presented,  on dissection, an intense  redness,
 which extended eight inches,  gradually diminishing
 in intensity, and left no distinct line  of  demarcation.
 Similar effects were produced with arsenic.   Verdi-
 gris, however, left no trace of demarcation or ulcera-
 tion ou the rectum of the dead dog, while it corroded
 the  living  parts.    The sulphnric and  nitric  acids

   * Fodere, vol. 4, p. 266.
   t He did not deem it necessary to experiment  with the narcotics or nar-
 cotico-acrid, as the former do not produce any local lesion after death, am<
 the latter only cause a slight degree of it. 
166                  poisons.
produced no other effect than their chemical one, and
the lesions that indicate reaction in the system, such
as inflammation and redness, were absent.  Hr. Tar-
tra found that he  could produce on  the Bdead, as well
as on the living, that yellow or orange colour,  which
is the characteristic of nitric acid.   The stomach was
rendered rotten by it, but in all his experiments  on
the dead, the striking distinction was wanting,  viz.
the presence of more  or less inflammation.  It could
only commence on the living body.  Lastly,  Orfila
ascertained,  that  when these poisons were introduced
into  the alimentary  canal, twenty-four hours  after
death, they  no longer excited  redness or inflamma-
tion, because life is entirely destroyed in the capilla-
ry vessels..   It is only when they are applied an hour
or two after  death, that the inflammatory phaenomena,
accompanied with the  line of demarcation are capable
of occurring.*
  As to slow poisons, in the sense already applied to
that  name,  we may remark,  that their peculiarities
are very difficult  to be distinguished.   Fodere enu-
merates  a long list  of appearances, such  as obstruc-
tion of the lymphatics, emptiness of the blood ves-
sels, a contraction and shrivelling of the viscera and
marasmus,^  but later and more minute observers con-
tradict these. J
  Prince Charles of Augustenberg, Crown Prince of
Sweden, and the predecessor of Bernadotte in that
station, fell dead from  his horse on  the 22d of  May,
1810, while  reviewing troops in Scania.   His death,
during  that stormy  period of public affairs,  excited
great attention, and an opinion soon spread abroad
that he had been poisoned.  The king ordered a ju-
dicial investigation, and it appeared that Dr. Rossi,
the physician of the late prince, had, without any di-
rections, proceeded to inspect the body  twenty-four
hours after death ; that he had performed this opera-
tion  with great   negligence,  omitting  many  things

  "Orfila, vol. 2, p. 535 to 547.  Fodere, vol. 4, p. 285.
  \ Fodere, vol. 4. p. 268           X Orfila, vol. 1, p. 477. 
poisons.                 167
which the law prescribed,  which the assisting physi-
cians proposed, and which were essential to render it
satisfactory ; and finally, that the coats of the stom-
ach, instead of being preserved and submitted to che-
mical analysis, were, according to his own acknowl-
edgment, thrown away.  The royal tribunal adjudg-
ed him to be  deprived of his  appointment, and to be
banished from  the kingdom.   This  decision would
not of course  diminish the suspicion already excited ;
and  among other physicians who were consulted on
the case, M. Lodin, professor of medicine,  at Lynko-
ping, presented two memoirs, in which he  stated it as
his opinion, that a slow poison of a vegetable nature,
and  probably analogous to  the  aqua  tofana,   had
been  administered to  the prince,  and  that this had
cansed the  apoplectic fit.  His reasons were,  1.  that
the prince  had always enjoyed good health previous
to his arrival in Sweden, and indeed had not been ill,
until after eating a cold pye at an inn in Illaby.  He
was shortly after seized with violent vomiting, while
the rest ofthe company experienced no ill effects.  2.
The  prince was naturally very temperate.  3. Ever
since his arrival in Sweden, he had experienced a loss
of appetite, with colic and diarrhea ;  and 4.  That on
dissection,  the  spleen was found  of  a black colour,
and in a state of decomposition, and the liver indura-
ted and dark coloured, whilst during life,  he had ex-
perienced  no symptoms corresponding to these ap-
pearances.   Dr. Lodin confessed, however, that he
was unacquainted with the effects that indicate the
administration of such a slow poison, but thought that
the previous symptoms were such as might be expec-
ted from it.
   For the credit of the profession,  this  conjectural
opinion met with decided reprobation from other me-
dical men.   It appeared that the prince had for sev-
eral days previous been subject to giddiness and pain
in the head,  and that all the symptoms were readily
referable to a simple case of apoplexy, while the ap-
pearances  on dissection, showed that rapid tendency 
168
POISONS.
to putrefaction, which is frequently observed in simi-
lar cases.*
   In the conclusion of the last section, several dis-
eases were mentioned, that might be mistaken for the
effects of  poison.  I shall  now indicate certain cir-
cumstances which may lead to error, when examining
the dead body—And they  are cases of sudden  death
and peculiar phcenomena observed on dissection.
   It is not  necessary to  enlarge  on the  affections
which in numerous cases destroy an individual sud-
denly.  Dissection generally developes the rupture
of some large vessel, the effusion of blood on  the
brain,  or some similar  disease, as  the  immediate
cause, and these instances  cannot be  mistaken by a
skilful  anatomist,  although the vulgar may be sus-
picious.   So  also when  death follows, as is some-
times the case, from the indulgence of passion.   Here
the viscera are generally in a  natural state, and of
course, as all lesion is absent, it will be impossible to
infer that a noxious substance has been taken.
  But  there are diseases whose course and termina-
tion  resemble in some degree the effects of poisons,
and  the symptoms that  accompany them, with the
traces  that  they leave, may often  lead into error.
The complaints that  present the  most striking ap-
pearances of this kind, are  probably a repelled  erup-
tion, gout when it has left the extremities and attack-
ed the  stomach, acidity ofthe bile, malignant fevers
and worms.f  Many of these are accompanied with
severe pain and violent vomiting, which commences
so suddenly,  as almost to bear the  semblance of a
disease from  poison.  Cholera morbus is another,
which during life, is marked by violent symptoms,
and on dissection,  presents  marks of inflammation or
gangrene.   The history of the case, however, the
season  of the year,  the  peculiar  and appropriate
symptoms and appearances on dissection, all must be

  * Fodere, vol. 3, p. 20; vol.4, p. 236. Edin. Ann. Register, vol. 3, p. 345.
  t Mahon, vol. 2, p 312 
poisons.                    169
critically scrutinized in order to arrive at a just con-
clusion.*
   As to the peculiar phoenomena observed on dissec-
tion, the following  cases may first be stated.   In  an
instance where the  stomach was found  covered with
exanthemata, the physicians would have pronounced
judgment concerning the cause of death, had they not
been informed,  that this eruption originated from the
person having had  the measles,  and which,  on ac-
count of the weakness of the patient, were only com-
mencing to be thrown out on the skin, when he died.t
Belloc gives us the following instructive case.  Au
individual of the age of seventy,  although otherwise
in apparent good health,  was  subject to  repeated  at-
tacks of gout.   One evening about nine o'clock,  he
visited a particular friend,  and at  his  house, took
some food, and at twelve returned home in high spir-
its.   He went to bed,  and  at two in the  morning,
^ang for his  servant,  who found him speechless and
apoplectic.   Medical aid  was  called,  but  before it
arrived, he  was dead.  On dissection  no alteration
from the natural state was observed in the body,  ex-
cept that about eight inches of the ileon was livid and
apparently approaching to gangrene.   It  had been
formerly noticed, that the deceased  complained  of
pain in that part.   And as the  stomach and other in-
testines were  in a healthy state,  it was  determined,
that no noxious substance could have caused this ter-
mination, but that it was owing to a translation of  the
gouty  matter.$   But the difficulty might  have been

  * In cholera morbus, for example, the bilious vomitings and stools, with
their attendant symptoms, will serve to characterise it, while on dissection,
although the stomach and  liver are sometimes found inflamed, yet Orfila
remarks, that the inflammation or gangrene never exte.ndstluroughout the whole
of the digestive canal. (Orfila, vol. 2, p. 495.) This observation appears tome
strongly verified in a paper that has lately appeared in the Ediu. Med. and
Surg. Jour. vol. 19, p. 8 and 9.  The author, Dr. Ran ken, in treating ofthe
epidemic cholera ofthe East Indies, runs a parallel between the symptoms
and appearances on dissection, observed in this dreadfully rapid and fatal
disease,  and those resulting from poisons.  The similarity is certainly
great in many particulars,  yet the one jnst adverted to, does not appear to
 have been witnessed in any examination, although the disease is infinitely
more violent than it appears in our own climate.
  f Morgagni, vol. 2, epist. 69, p. 398.
  X Belloc, p. 149.
VOL. II. 
J.70                  POISONS.
greatly increased, as Fodere remarks, if instead a
metastasis  to  the ileon, there had  been one to the
stomach.   These instances then, prove the great im-
portance of knowing the previous habits of the pa-
tient, his maladies and their effects on his system.
  But there are  intrinsic difficulties connected  with
the appearance of the stomach, which have rendered
it a subject of great doubt, and almost forced medical
jurists to avoid drawing any inferences from it.  I
shall endeavour to state these as succinctly as possi-
ble.
  1. The  vascularity  of the human stomach  after
death may lead to error unless properly observed.  I
have already mentioned a remark of Baillou on this
point, and we are further indebted to Dr. Yelloly for
some instructive observations on it.   This distin-
guished physician examined the stomachs of twenty
individuals, among  which number,  were five crimi-
nals, who were hanged and in whom therefore the
appearances of health were likely to be found.   Not
one  of the whole number had any  affection of the
stomach while living.  In all he observed a highly
vascular state of  the villous coat of  the stomach,  in
in particular parts, (as about the pylorus and cardia,)
with but two exceptions ; in  one of these, no vascu-
larity was observed,  and in the other it was obscure.
In the five executed criminals, the vascularity amount
to a  red or crimson hue.  These appearances  were
distinct for a short time only after death, being most
marked on the first day, and soon after, but at irregu-
lar periods, becoming more obscure.   Dr Yelloly in*
fers, from these dissections, " that in the villous coat
of the  stomach,  appearances  of vascular fulness,
whether florid or dark coloured, in distinct vessels, or
in extravasations of different sizes,  are not to be re-
garded as unequivocal marks of disease.  They occur
in every variety of degree and character, under every
circumstance of  previous indisposition, and in situa-
tions where the most  healthy  aspect  of an organ
might be fairly inferred.  They  are found  in every 
POISONS.
171
part of the  stomach, but principally in the posterior
part ofthe great end, and in the lesser curvature, and
they cover spaces of various extent, but are generally
well defined and terminate abruptly.''  Healso sup-
poses  that this vascularity is confined  to the adult
stomach, and is but seldom seen iu young subjects.*
   If we compare this statement,  with the appearances
mentioned by  Dr.  Baillie, we shall readily see the
danger of falling into mistakes on this point.   Ordin-
ary inflammation  he characterises  thus.   " The
stomach, upon the outside at the inflamed  part, shows
a greater number of smaller  vessels than usual, but
frequently not much crowded.   In opening into the
stomach,  it  is found to be a little thicker at the in-
flamed part, the inner membrane is very red from the
number of small florid vessels, and there are frequent-
ly spots of extravasated blood."
   But, " when arsenic has been swallowed, the stom-
ach is affected with a most  intense degree of inflam-
mation.   Its substance becomes thicker, and in open-
ing into its cavity, there is a very great degree of red-
ness in the inner membrane, arising partly from the
very great number of minute vessels  and  partly from
extravasated blood.   Portions of the inner membrane
are sometimes destroyed,  from the violent action that
has taken place in consequence of the immediate ap-
plication of the poison.   I have also seen  a thin layer
of the  coagulable lymph thrown  out upon a portion
of the inner surface ofthe stomach.   Most commonly
too, some portion of the arsenic is to be seen in form
of a white powder,  lying upon different  portions of
the inner membrane."f
  If we separate the ordinary, from  the occasional
appearances  here  described, we shall find, that the
statements of Dr. Yelloly and Dr.  Baillie in some
measure correspond.  The former has however sug-

 * See  Dr. Yelloly's paper "on the'vascular appearance in the human
stomach, which is frequently mistaken for inflammation of that organ," in the
Medico-Chirurg. Transactions, vol.4, p. 371.  See also  Edin. Med. and
Surg. Journal, vol. 10, p. 236.
 f Baillie, Ainer. ed. p. 67,68. 
172                  poisons.
gesfed, that when coagulable lymph is thrown out m
the substance, or on the surface ofthe villous coat, it
is to be deemed an unequivocal indication of previous
inflammation.   But this is a rare  occurrence in dis-
sections, and it may be also, that thick mucus will
sometimes   assume the  appearance  of coagulable
lymph.*  Certainly there is a danger of confounding
the ordinary vascularity of the stomach, with the in-
dications of slight inflammation, and such indeed as
ice may expect to find in many cases of poisoning.
   2. Digestion of the stomach after death.  This sub-
ject was first developed  by the illustrious John  Hun-
ter, and since his days, it has been illustrated  by his
pupils.  That anatomist found repeatedly on dissec-
tion, that the great end of  the stomach was digested,
and holes made in  it.   " To be  sensible of this ef-
fect,'' says he, " nothing more is necessary, than to
compare the inner surface  of the great end of the sto-
mach with  any other part of the inner surface—what
is sound will appear soft, spongy and granulated, and
without distinct blood-vessels,  opaque and thick;
while the other  Avill appear thin, smooth,  and  more
transparent, and the vessels will  be seen ramifying in
its substance,  and upon squeezing the blood which
they contain, from the larger branches into the smalK
er, it will be found to pass out at the digested  ends of
the vessels, and appear like drops on the inner sur-
face."  Again, he  observes, " that when the stomach
is actually  perforated, the edges of this  opening ap-
pear to be half dissolved, very much like to that kind
of dissolution  which fleshy parts undergo when half
dissolved in a living stomach,  or when  dissolved by
a caustic  alkali, viz.  pulpy,  tender, and ragged."
Lastly, he  remarks, that he found these appearances
more frequent in those who had  died a violent death.
He relates  two cases of this  kind, in which the per-
sons had died shortly after having their skulls  frac-
tured, and a third one where a man had been hung.
* relloly, ut supra. 
POISONS.
173
  The cause of  this  appearance  of the stomach,
is supposed by Mr. Hunter to be the action  of  the
gastric juice on the coats of the stomach.  And  the
reason why this effect is not produced during  life,
is,  according  to  him, the constant resistance of  the
vital principle to its action.   He  also observes,  that
the power of the gastric juice is  not confined to  the
stomach alone, since he has  often  noticed,  that after it
had dissolved the stomach in its usual place, the con-
tents of the stomach would  come in contact with  the
spleen and diaphragm, and partly  dissolve the adja-
cent side of the spleen and diaphragm, so that  the
contents  of the stomach were found in the cavity of
the thorax, and had even affected the lungs in a small
degree.*
  Dr. Baillie's description of this phoenomeuon is as
follows : " In looking upon the coats  of the stomach
at its great end,  a small portion of them frequently
appears  to  be thinner, more transparent, and feels
somewhat more pulpy than is usual; but these  ap-
pearances are seldom  very  strongly marked.  They
arise from the action  of the gastric juice  resting on
that part of the stomach in  greater  quantity than  any
where else, and dissolving a small portion  of its coats.
This is, therefore,  not  to  be considered as a conse-
quence of a disease, but as a natural  effect arising
from the action of the gastric juice, and the  state of
the stomach after death.  When the gastric juice has
been in considerable quantity, and of an active.nature,
the stomach has been dissolved quite through its sub-
stance at the great end,  and its contents have been
effused into the general cavity of the  abdomen.   In
such cases, the neighbouring viscera are also partially
dissolved.   The instances,  however, of so powerful
a solution, are rare, and have almost only occurred in
persons who, while in good  health, had died suddenly
from accident."!
   Such is the explanation given of this appearance by
* Hunter, in Phil. Trans, vol. 62.
t Baillie's Morbid Anatomv, Amer. ed.p. 75. 
174                   poisons.
the best anatomists  both in  England  and  France.*
But there are certain qualifications urged to various
parts of the above statements, which it is proper  to
mention.
  In the first place, it is denied that the erosion of the
stomach only occurs in those who have died suddenly
from accident.  Mr. Allan Burns  mentions, that he
had seen nine cases in which this solution had taken
place, three of which were persons worn out by debi-
litating diseases, and in an emaciated and anasarcous
state, f  Dr.  Haviland has also  lately related a case
of a young man who died of fever, but had previously
enjoyed good health.   The body was  opened twelve
hours  after death,  and the  mucous membrane was
found red and vascular, and spots  of extravasated
blood were seen below that coat.   There were two
holes in the stomach, the larger very near to the car-
diac end of the small curvature, and on the posterior
surface.  Its  size was more  than  an inch in length,
and about half that breadth.   The other was not far
from the former,  and  also  on the posterior surface,
about the size of a  sixpence.   The edges of these
holes were smooth,  well defined,  and slightly ele-
vated.   The coats of the stomach were thin in  many
spots, and in one in particular, nothing was left but
the peritoneum—the mucous and muscular coats being
entirely destroyed.   Lastly,  the diaphragm was per-
forated  in its muscular portion with  a  hole  large
enough .to admit the end ofthe finger. $  Several other
instances are recorded by various writers,  where per-
foration was observed in patients who had died after
an illness of greater or less duration. ||

  * Grimaud, professor at Montpellier, has confirmed the  observations of
Mr. Hunter in bis dissections.  Fodere, vol 4, p. 307.
  t Observations on digestion ofthe stomach after death,  in Edin. Med.
and Surg.  Journal, vol. 6, p. 132,133.
  + Dr. Haviland, in Trans. Cambridge, Phil. Soc. vol. 1. Annals of Philo-
sophy ,N.  S. vol. 4, p. 292.
  j| See the London Med. Repository, vol. 4, p. 112 ; vol. 10, p. 416 ; vol.
19, p. 208. The  Eclectic Repertory, vol. 5, p. 495, case by Mr. Want.
New-Vork Med. Repository, vol. 18, p. 287, case by Dr. Pascalis.  Ameri-
can  Med.  Recorder, vol. 4, p. 151, case by  Dr. Cheeseman. Quarterly 
poisons.                        175
   Again, it is urged by Mr. Burns, that the digestion

is  not  confined to  the great end,  as  stated  by  Mr.


Journ. Foreign Med. and Surg. vol. 2, p. 328, case of M. Segelas, in an in-
fant eight months old.   Her disease was diarrhoea  and vomiting, and she
had suffered under the former forty-five days, and under the latter twenty
days  previous to death.  The perforation was not  accompanied with any
trace of inflammation.  See also the same Journal, vol. 5, p. 297, for anoth-
er case, by Dr. Peters, in a female aged 52.   I have also been favoured with
the outlines of a^case, which occurred in the practice of my brother, Dr. J.B.
Beck.   The patient laboured under hydrothorax, but had never complained
of pain in the region ofthe stomach. She had never suffered with  vomit-
ing, and her appetite had been good, until within a few weeks of her death.
On dissection, five ulcers were found in the stomach, one of which perfora-
ted through the different coats.  A more minute statement of this case will
appear in the New-York Med. and Phys. Jour.  It appears that Chaussierfhas
examined this subject, and given some general views concerning it, which
are worthy of attention.  " The causes, (according to him) which produce
erosions and  perforations of the stomach, are of two  kinds ; first, the de-
struction of a schirrous tumour, the progress of a cancerous ulcer ; second,
a morbid action of erosion, of ulceration which has commenced spontane-
ously at some point ofthe mucous lining ofthe stomach.  The perforations
of the first kind are not  rare, but cannot easily be confounded  with those
which are the result of a caustic poison.  Those ofthe second kind may be
divided into acute and  chronic ; the first sometimes  occurring in a very
short space of time.  The following are the  characters given by M. Chaus-
sier : " The ulcerations  vary in size, shape, and place ; they occur  partic-
ularly at the basis of the  stomach, and the parts corresponding to the spleen
and diaphragm.  The contents of the organ  are then sometimes effused in-
to the abdomen or the thorax if the diaphragm be perforated, but most com-
monly there is no effusion, from the adhesion of the parts to those in the
vicinity.  If the adhesions  be broken, a viscous, unctuous liquor, not foetid,
flows out; it has sometimes the odour of  musk, is always brownish, and
mixed with blackish  flocculi, as though fine  charcoal were added to a mu
cous serum.  The edges are soft, fringed sometimes with a blackish line
more or less marked. Elsewhere the  stomach retains its ordinary shape
and consistence ; it presents no appearance of thickening or inflammation;
the capillaries of its mucous membrane appear, however, more  developed,
particularly in the vicinity  ofthe perforation ;  this last sometimes forms in
a\ few hours in people in health ; most frequently after some days illness,
and when  no cause of external violence or poisoning  can be  suspected."
When the  perforation is the result of a caustic, irritating poison, its edges
are of the same thickness as the organ ; sometimes they are hard and cal-
lous; in the spontaneous perforation the edges are thin, and formed only
by the peritoneal membrane, the two other coats ofthe stomach being more
extensively destroyed than the serous one.  In this case too, the opening is
not so irregular as in that which results from the action of a corrosive sub-
stance.  The circumference of perforations caused by nitric acid is yellow,
from the chemical action of this substance.  In the case of strong sulphuric
acid it is black.  Almost always when the perforation is the  effect of poison,
the parts not perforated  are more or less inflamed, while traces of the same
affection are found in the mouth, the pharynx, and the intestinal canal ; on
the other hand, for the most part in the  case of spontaneous perforation, the
unperforated parts present no appearance of inflammation.  This last charac-
ter is not,  however, constant;  for as on the  one  hand, perforations  from
poison are sometimes, though rarely, unattended by inflammation of the
unperforated parts ofthe intestinal canal, so on the other, spontaneous per-
forations may be observed in which there is inflammation  of the stomach
and intestines."  Quarterlv Journal of  Foreign Med.  and Surg. vol. 3, p.
258, 259. 
176                   poisons.
Hunter and  Dr.  Baillie.   In  several instances,  he
found the forepart of the stomach perforated about an
inch distant from the pylorus,  and midway  between
the  smaller  and  greater curvatures.   As it is a  fair
inference from the statement of Mr. Hunter,  that the
coats of the  stomach will only be acted on  at that
part on  which the contents have rested, he conceives
that these cases affect its general truth, and suggests
in explanation,  that the action may be  owing to the
gastric juice  retained in the vessels  which had se-
creted it.*
   Lastly,  Dr.  Yelloly  has suggested an objection,
which appears in  some degree to  affect the  doctrine
itself.   He observes, that in  these  cases of partial di-
gestion, if an .erosion had actually taken place,  the
minute extremities of the vessels must have been  in-
cluded in the destruction, and on  injecting the  arte-?
ries, an extravasation would necessarily be observed,
but in many  trials, particularly where the stomach
was very thin, no  such extravasation occurred.!  Mr.
Burns found, however, that the vessels were unable to
resist the force of  the syringe  in injecting the body,
and the cavity of the stomach was  filled with wax.
   The application of this subject in legal  medicine, is
the distinction between it and erosion from the effects.
of poison.   How  important this  becomes,  will  be
hereafter shown,   when relating  the  case  of Miss
Burns.  But  I  cannot conclude this section  without
suggesting, that until this subject is more profoundly

  * Burns ut antea. In one case, he found the stomach  eroded, and de-
monstrated this to his class.  He then stitched up the abdomen, and laid
the body aside in a cold situation for two days.  On again opening it, he
found that the liver, where it lay over the dissolved part of the stomach,
was pulpy ; its peritoneal coat was dissolved, and its substance was tender
to a considerable depth.  At the same time,the other parts of the liver were
as solid as before, and every other part was free from putrefaction.
  t Edin. Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 10, p. 237.  As to digestion ofthe
stomach being rare or common, Dr. Yelloly is of the former opinion.  Dr.
Joseph Adams iu reply, suggested that all his  subjects were examined with-
in a very short time after apparent death, and that the parts might have re-
tained life sufficient to prevent the action ofthe gastric juice. (Lond. Med.
and Phys. Journ. vol. 31, p. 178.)  In the same volume, (page 3) is a narra-
tive by Mr. Borret, of a man in high health, aged 64, who was hung, and his
stomach examined 44 hours after death. It was found uninjured. 
poisons.                 177
investigated and  better understood, erosion  distinct
from inflammation should not  be regarded as a posi-
tive proof of poison.
   3. Rupture of  the stomach.   We are indebted to
Dr. Crampton and Mr. Travers  for some instructive
cases of this dreadful disease.   The patients in  the
midst of health, are seized with the most acute  and
unremitting pain in the stomach, and a rigidness and
contraction of the  abdominal muscles,  and death en-
sues after a few hours illness. On dissection, the con-
tents of the stomach are found in the cavity of the ab-
domen, and a perforation is discovered, resulting from
an ulcer of the  mucous coat.*
  It will immediately occur to the reader, that a ter-
mination so sudden and fatal may lead to suspicion,
and the appearances exhibited  on dissection would in
some degree strengthen this, were it not  understood,
that death has and may occur from the  natural cause
in question, without the intervention of any poisonous
substance.

  I have now  concluded what may be considered  as
general and introductory remarks to the subject of
poisons.  The symptoms and the appearances on
dissection have been arranged in various classes,  not
because the system used for this purpose was deemed
perfect, but that it seemed to be  an approach to  the
truth, and at all events was preferable to the long ca-
talogues of ancient writers,  in which the symptoms
and lesions  not only of every class,' but of every in-
dividual poison, were arranged  indiscriminately.  On
approaching  the consideration of  individual poisons,
I propose to notice their effects only as I find them
warranted by the history of particular  cases, and I
shall endeavour to  bear in mind the following remarks
as a guide and  a caution.   " Systematic writers upon
poisons have jumbled together  the symptoms of  va-

 * Medico-Chirurg. Trans, vol. 8, p. 228. The case related inthe London
Med. Repository,  vol. 5, p. 157, as occurring to Dr. Gastallier of Paris.
seems to have been of a similar nature.
VOt. II.
23 
178
POISONS.
rious doses operating under different circumstances,
without discriminating the constant effects, if there be
any, from the common or usual  effects;  nay, they
have drawn their descriptions ofthe effects of poisons
not only from different poisons of the same class, but
even from poisons of different classes, and from their
effects  upon animals of different classes.   Poisons
must still  be studied in the  way of induction.  We
must collect all  the special  facts and observations—
we must compare and generalize them, and  proceed
no farther in our general inferences than these facts
warrant."*
* Edin. Med. and Surg. Journ. vol. 7, p. 86 
CHAPTER  IV.
                     MINERAL  POISONS.

Arsenic.  White oxide of arsenic.  Modes in which it may prove poison-
  ous.  Internally, (a) Its exhibition by the mouth.  Symptoms.  Classi-
  fication of these—when the patient survives the effects—when he lives be-
  yond a day or two—when he dies within a few hours,  (b) By injection
  into the rectum or vagina.  Externally,   (a) Applied to a wound or ulcer,
  or even to the skin. Effects of this.  Cancer plasters,  (fc) By inhaling
  its vapours.  Appearances on dissection, in  those who  survive several
  days—in those who die in  a few hours.  Whether  putrefaction follows
  rapidly after death in these cases.  Effects of arsenic on animals.  Jae-
  ger's  experiments—Brodie's experiments.  Chemical proofs.   1. Tests
  or re-agents,   (a)  Lime-water.  (6) Ammoniaret of copper,   (c) Sul-
  phate of copper.  ((/)  Sulphuretted hydrogen,  (e)  Nitrate of silver.   (/)
  Iodine,  (g) Nitrate of potash,  (h) Chromate of potash.  2. Reduction
  of the taetal.  (a) Its reduction with the black flux.   (6) The garlic
  smell,  (c) The  tombac alloy,  (d) Its reduction by the  galvanic pile.
  Difficulties that may occur when the poison is mixed with animal or ve-
  getable substances.  Modes of removing these—effect of tests on various
  mixtures of arsenic with aliments and drinks.  Inquiry into the degree of
  proof necessary to determine that arsenic has been administered—whether
  its reduction to the metallic state should  be deemed indispensable—ob-
  jections to this.  Medico-legal cases—Miss Blandy—Nairn and Ogilvie—
  Miss Burns—Kesler.  Antidotes—propriety of laws prohibiting the unre-
  stricted sale of arsenic.  Arsenites.  Arsenic acid.  Sulphurets of arsenic
   Black oxide of arsenic.  Arsenical  hydrogen.  Metallic arsenic.  Mercu-
   ry.   Corrosive sublimate. Modes of exhibition.  Internally,  (a) Its ex-
  hibition by the mouth.   Symptoms,  (b) By injection.  Case of Sir Tho-
  mas Overbury.   Externally, applied to a wound or ulcer, or to the skin.
  Appearances  on dissection.  Effects on animals.   Chemical proofs.  Ope-
  ration of various animal and vegetable substances on corrosive sublimate
   —Effect of tests on these mixtures.  Antidotes.  Red precipitate and red
   oxyd.  Other mercurial preparations.  Mercurial vapours, and mercury in
    a state of extreme division.  Injurious effects of these.

    The  mineral poisons  are most frequently used  as
 the instruments of  suicide  or  of  homicide, and they 
180
MINERAL  POISONS.
hence  deserve the  earliest and most minute  atten-
tion*   I shall consider them in the following order:
Arsenic	Iodine
Mercury	Acids
t/ Antimony	Alkalies and their carbon
Copper	ates
Zinc	Barytes and its salts
Tin	Quicklime
Silver	Hydrogenated sulphuret
Gold	of potash
Platina	Nitrate of potash
Bismuth	Muriate of ammonia
Sulphate of iron	The gases
Lead	Glass and enamel
Phosphorus	
	ARSENIC
         ARSENIOUS ACID, OR WHITE OXIDE OF ARSEJSIC.
  The  substance commonly known under the name
of arsenic, is according to chemical nomenclature, ar-
senious acid, or the white oxide of  arsenic ; and it
has  received these  apparently  incompatible  names
from the fact, that though more analogous  to the ox-
ides, yet it possesses some of the properties of acids.
It is an artificial production, and is prepared  princi-
pally in Saxony, from cobalt ores.   Whilst the lat-
ter, in the crude state, are roasting for the purpose of
obtaining zaffre,  the vapours  arising from the oxide
are condensed in a long  and large chamber,  and to
these potash is added.  The mixture is then sublimed,
and the white oxide is obtained, leaving potash  with
sulphur.   This employment is a dangerous, and in a
short time, fatal one ; and accordingly, convicts whose
punishment would otherwise be death, are condemned
to it.f

  * In noticing poisons, I shall omit as much of their chemical 'and botani-
cal history as is practicable, consistently with the design of this work  The
reader will be considered as generally acquainted with this preliminary in-
formation.                                  r      J
  \ Gordon's Inaug. Dissertation, p. 4. See a notice of this production in 
MINERAL POISONS.
181
  Arsenious acid occurs in commerce in the form of
shining  semi-vitreous  lumps, and  when reduced to
powder, bears some resemblance to white sugar.  Its
taste is generally said  to be acrid and corrosive, leav-
ing an impression of sweetness.*
  It may be poisonous either internally or externally
exhibited.   1.  Internally, by the mouth passing into
the stomach, or by being injected into the vagina or
rectum.   2.  Externally, by being applied to a wound
or ulcer., or by  inhaling its vaponrs.
  Internally, (a) Its exhibition by the mouth.
  Hahnemann, who has written  on this poison,  pro-
poses a classification of its effects into  three degrees.
When  death  follows  the exhibition of  the poison
within twenty-four hours, it  constitutes the first de-
gree ;  and when later than twenty-four hours, the se-
cond degree;  and  when the case, though attended
with dangerous symptoms, does not terminate fatally,
it belongs to the  third class.f
  This arrangement is evidently useful, since it  may
lead to proper  indications for the application of cura-
tive means ;  and it is important, as it must tend to in-
crease our knowledge of the  complicated  symptoms
arising from the exhibition of the poison.
   A writer in the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical
Journal, has presented us with a  description of its
effects  according  to the above arrangement,  drawn
from a careful  comparison of all the cases which have
occurred in  the course of  his reading.   I shall copy
this, and add such remarks  and references  as may
appear to deserve notice.^

the Edinburgh Med.  and Surg. Journal, vol. 11, p. 134. The dangerous na-
ture of the vapours arising from the roasting of cobalt ores, appears to have
been early known.  They were considered so hurtful to the miners, that a
prayer was formerly offered up in the German church, that God would pre-
serve miners from cobalt and spirits.  Beckmann, vol. 2, p. 263.
  * Dr. Gordon  doubts this statement, and observes, that when first tasted,
it is always sweet like sugar, but afterwards somewhat acid. Page 9.
  t Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 7, p. 86. This will be as proper
a place as any to mention, that the smallest quantity of arsenic may prove
injurious, and it is said that two grains have caused death.
  X The plan I shall pursue, will be, first, to quote the description from the
authority already named,  and then to add such peculiarities as may have
been noticed in  the cases that I have examined. 
182
MINERAL  POISONS.
   "In the slightest case  in which the operation of
arsenic is recorded as  producing  poisonous  effects,
the symptoms are uneasiness at the praecordia, and a
sense of heat there."   This effect  is often perceived
in those who take it medicinally.   " When the dose
of poison is somewhat greater, but  not sufficient to
produce death, violent vomiting is commonly the first
symptom, although in  some instances it is preceded
by a sense of heat in the tongue and throat;  in other
cases, these sensations are expressly mentioned as not
felt during the whole course ofthe disease.   In these
cases,  when the vomiting is instant,  and the poison
has been taken on a full stomach,  the patient seems
to owe his escape to the poison being discharged he-
fore it  has time to act.   The next symptom which
claims  our attention, is  the  purging,  sometimes of
blood;  but purging  occurs less frequently  in this
slight  degree of poisoning, than in the  more severe
cases.   In the region of the stomach and bowels, pain
is frequently felt, but it  is often rather an unsupport-
ahle uneasiness  and  oppression,  than pain properly
so called.  The stomach is not described as  swelling;
and in one case,  where  there was hiccup, eructation,
and difficulty of breathing, it is expressly mentioned
that it was not tense or swelled.
  A sensation of coldness, especially in the extremi-
ties, and  cold sweat,  seems to have been almost al-
ways present, with general paleness, and paleness of
the countenance, and in  some cases, languor, faintish-
ness and a tendency to sleep.   In this degree of poi-
soning, convulsions are not frequently observed, and
the thirst  and fever seem to arise  from some irritation
in particular persons,  as they are seldom expressed.
In one case only, is ardor urinee expressed."*

  * The cases which I have examined with reference to  this  division, and
for the purpose of verifying or correcting  the symptoms given in the text,
are related by the following persons -.—Mr. Murray of Alford, three cases in
the Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 18, p. 167.  Jlfr. M'Leod, three
cases in the Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 15, p. 553. Mr. Da-
vies, two children, London Med. and Phys. Journal, vol. 28, p. 3<I5. Mr.
Buckmll, in Ibid. vol. 29, p. 44.  Dr. Roget, in the Medico-Chinirg. Trail* 
MINERAL POISONS.
183
   There are some peculiarities  which  occasionally

 occur  that   also  deserve  notice.    Epileptic  fits

 were present in Dr. Roget's case, noticed below, and

 Dr.  Gordon  states, that  Dr. Duncan,  Jun.  in  his

 lectures quotes  several  authors, and in  particular,

 Alberti  and Forestus, who have  noticed this as a

 symptom.*
   Paralysis has been repeatedly  observed by Dr.

 Falconer,  once  in   the hand, like  lead, but in two

 other cases, it was general.   It began with numbness

 of the extremities, but  there was no wasting, f

   " In the second degree of poisoning,  from arsenic,

 where the  patient  lives above a  day or two, the first

 complaints are heat and thirst,  or vomiting,  or inex-

 pressible distress ;  the first is less frequently observ-

 ed than  the other two.  Purging is not mentioned in

 any ofthe cases  of  this sort, but in  one a foetid stool
 was   procured by a pessary,  and  in one,  gripes  are

 noticed ; in two, the belly swelled;  in one, there was


 actions, vol. 2.  Dr. Vandendale, (Orfila, vol. 1, p. 143.)  Mr. Marshall, five
 cases—the Turner family,  supposed to have been poisoned by Eliza Fen-
 ning.  Mr. Ship-man, in the Loudon Med.Repos. vol. 9, p. 455.  De Haen,
 Ratio Medendi, vol. 3, p. 113.  Dr. Barnum, in New-York Med. Repository.
 vol. 5, p. 43.
  These cases verify the statement in the text in most of its leading parti-
 culars.  In those of Murray, M'Leod and Bucknill,the burning heat in the
 throat is expressly mentioned.  Purging generally occurred, and in some
 instances, it was bloody.  In Bucknill's case, the discharge was so acrimo-
 nious as to excoriate the anus.  In two individuals, there was tenesmus and
constipation.  In one case the urine was voided with difficulty. Numbness
 of the extremities, loss of power in them, general debility and faintness, are
noticed in almost all.  One of Murray's patients had soreness ofthe eyes ;
 and in Davies' case  of a child  of nine years, a vesicular eruption com-
menced around the mouth and  circumference ofthe eyes, which in a day
or two formed a scab, and  gradually fell off.   In M'Leod's case, there were
convulsive spasms, loss of  the powers of speech and swallowing, and apo-
plectic appearances ; but I suggest whether the administration of the  sul-
 phuret of potash might  not have aided in producing these.  These patients
 also, at an early period of their illness, had purple petechias on  the chest
 and neck.  In De Haen's case, cramps of the feet, with pruritus and partial
 fiaralysis, were present. In  Vandendale's, meteorismus abdominis, with
 oss of the hair and nnils ofthe hands and feet. Mr. Shipman's case assumed
the form of a marked case of enteritis.
  *  Gordon, p. 18.
  t Mem. Med. Soc. of London, vol. 2, p, 224.  In a case seen by Mr. Be-
dingfield, paralysis ofthe extremities was produced. London Med. Reposi-
tory, vol. 6, p. 227.  And in another by Dr. Hosack, a palsy ofthe muscles
of the neck aud right arm, -was occasioned by the application of this poison
♦o an encysted tumour.  American Med. and Phil. Register, vol. 3, p. 389. 
184
MINERAL  POISONS.
great feebleness  and  lassitude, and in all,  convul-
sions seemed to have taken place—in one case imped-
ing deglutition."
  There is a very interesting case  belonging to this
division, related by Mr. Murray.   The patient sur-
vived seven days.   The course of the symptoms was
as  follows—heat, thirst,  pain  in the  region of the
stomach, vomiting, which frequently  recurred after
drinking, occasional  ineffectual  attempts to go  to
stool.  The pulse was frequent, one hundred to one
hundred and ten, and not strong.  Hoarseness, sore-
ness of the eyes and shifting pains in the extremities.
He voided his urine frequently.   This illness did not
confine him  to bed, and indeed he rode several miles
in order  to consult  Mr. Murray, while  under its ef-
fects.  The day before  his death, the hoarseness in-
creased, with a more anxious expression of counten-
ance.  He was found dead in bed.*
  " In  the third  degree of poisoning,  where death
takes place within a few  hours, the symptoms suc-
ceed each other rapidly,  or begin at the same time,
and the fainting and general debility, almost always
precede the  vomiting.   The vomiting occurred in all
the cases but two ; purging or gripes  in most of the
cases ; the matter passed  by stool is in one case de-
scribed  as green,  watery and viscid.   In  one case,
there was vertigo, also general pains  and  loss  of
speech.   Convulsions  did not occur often,  but there
was sometimes  hiccup.  In a few  cases  there  was
much heat and thirst; even in one, in which (a symp-
tom more frequent than heat)  there  were complaints
of a sensation of intense cold, and paralysis of the ex-
tremities with cold  sweat.  The  pulse  in the only
case in which it is mentioned, was slow and languid ;
and death seems to have  generally  proceeded from
exhaustion and rapid sinking of the vital  powers.   In

  * Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 18, p. 167.  The dissection of
this patient will be mentioned hereafter. The case of Mr Blandy also  be-
longs to this division, but as I intend to notice it at length, I will not repeat
'hs symptoms in  this place. 
                  MINERAL  P0IS0K3*               i»0
                              *

none of these  violent cases, is there any mention of
delirium,  or affection of the mind,  except in one,  in
which the poison was applied externally to the head."
   Some peculiarities in particular cases,  must be ad-
ded to these, and one which deserves repetition,  is
the circumstance that patients sometimes do not vomit.
Wepfer mentions  an instance of this  kind.   Chaus-
sier relates of  a man who swallowed arsenic in large
pieces, and in whom  the only symptoms were slight
syncope  on  the approach of death.   Ou dissection
the  arsenic  was  seen almost in  the same  state  in
which he had  swallowed  it, and it was not possible
to discover the least appearance  of erosion or inflam-
mation.   There  are several  other  cases recorded,
where the patients  denied that they  felt any pain.*
And one of the most remarkable  is the instance of a
boy eight years old, who swallowed a small quan-
tity of a substance picked up in the streets, which
contained  arsenic.    He lived twenty-one hours, and
experienced no pain even on pressure, yet on dissec-
tion, the  stomach  was  found in a gangrenous  state
near the pylorus.f
   It may appear an omission, were I not to  state the
symptoms generally,  as enumerated  by systematic
writers ; and I therefore copy the list given by Orfila,

  * The following cases are instructive, and  present some interesting pe-
culiarities.  They are related by the following observers .—Dr. Tonnclier,
in Orfila, vol. 1, p. 118.  Dr. Laborde, in Orfila, vol. 1, p.  120.  Dr. Yelloly,
Ediu. Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 5, p. 389.   Mr. Davies, a child five years
old, London Med. and Phys. Journal, vol. 28, p. 345.  Mr. Pettigrew, Lon-
don Med. Repository, vol. 11, p. 525. Mr. Soden, (from London Medical
Review,) Eclectic Repertory, vol. 2, p. 325.  John Hunter, from Trans, of a
Society, he. Eclectic Repertory, vol. 1, p. 433. Chaussier, Edin. Med. and
Surg. Journal, vol. 7, p. 92.  Morgagni, vol. 2, p. 3<><>.
  In the cases of Yelloly and  Laborde, both patients denied that they felt
any pain.  The pulse in Yelloly's was slow  and languid; in Laborde's,
tranquil; in Tonuelier's, Hunter's, Fettigrew's, and Soden's, small, tremu-
lous and frequent.  A comatose state preceded death in  a few ; bat gene-
rally,  the sensorial functions were not disturbed.  In the astonishing  case
related by Metzger, (Schlegel, vol. 4, p. 22,)  where he removed one ounce
and thirty-five grains from the stomach after death, and considers that only
equal to one third of what was actually present, the patient laboured under
most violent pain, vomiting and diarrhoea, yet "per lolumhoc tempus animo
constans, deque inslante mortepersuassimus." He died convulsed.  Stercora-
ceous vomiting is said by Dr. Gordon (p. 12) to have occurred, but I can.
ind no case in which it is mentioned.
   t London Med. Repository, vol. 2, p. 270.
     VOL. II.               24 
186
MINERAL POlSONs,
although the reader cannot fail, I believe, to remark,
that it is far from being as useful, as when it is sub-
divided in the manner adopted in the previous pages.
  "An austere . ^e, fetid mouth, frequent ptyalism,
continual  spitting,  constriction of the pharynx and
oesophagus,  the teeth set on edge,  hiccup,  nausea,
vomiting of a  matter  sometimes  brown, sometimes
bloody ; anxiety, frequent faintings ;  heat of the pr»-
cordia ; inflammation of the lips,  tongue,  palate,
throat, and cesophagus ; the stomach painful to such
a degree as not to support the most emollient  drink ;
the alvine discharges black, and of a'honible fetor:
the pulse small, frequent, concentrated and  irregular
—sometimes slow and  unequal; palpitation  of  the
heart, syncope, unquenchable thirst,  pungent heat all
over  the body—sensation as of a devouring fire-
sometimes an icy coldness; breathing difficult; cold
sweats ; urine scanty, red and bloody ; change of the
features of the countenance—a livid circle round  the
eyelids  ; swelling and itching over the whole body,
which is covered with livid spots, and sometimes with
a miliary eruption ; prostration  of strength—loss of
feeling,  particularly in the feet and hands ;  delirium
—convulsions, often accompanied with an insupport-
able priapism—falling off of the hair—detachmeut of
the epidermis ;  and lastly, death."
  It is rare (he adds) to see all these symptoms united
in the same person ;  sometimes almost all of them are
wanting.*
  (bj By injection into the rectum or vagina.   This
is fatal in the same way as already described, but the
inflammation affects  the intestines more than the sto-
mach.  A horrible history is related  of two women,
"quibus per vaginam oxiclum arsenici marito  admo-
tum est.  Occubuere ambae, harum una inopinato, et
perdurante horrore, frigore, et urente vaginae dolore
correpta est, et post vomitus fere continuos, et deliria,
elapsis 28 horis ab applicatione  veneni,  mortua est.
Sectio monstravit abdomen  non tumidum,  nullas in
Orfila, vol. 1, p. 125. 
MINERAL  POISONS.               187
cute  maculas;  labia vulvas magna paulum tumida et

rubra; in vagina, patula flaccida, pauca grana arsenici

crystallini;  os uteri sphacelatum et apertum ; corpus

ejus  naturale;  ventriculum fere  sanum,  duodenum

iuflammatura,  multaque bile perfusum; pulmones  li-

vidos, fere nigros ; iu  utroque cordis ventriculi poly-

pos ; reliqua viscera sana, sanguinem in omnibus vasis

fluidum et solutum."*
   In one experiment on a  dog, forty-eight grains of

arsenious acid, in  the form of powder and fragments,

were introduced into  the  rectum.   He shortly after

passed the whole of it by stool.   Two days after, the

same quantity, but pulverized, was introduced.  This

produced loss of appetite and dejection, and he died
iu eight days.   The parts round  the anus were ex-

coriated, and the integuments detached,  so that there

was  an ulcer of some extent.   The mucous membrane

Of the  intestines near the anus, was of  a greenish

grey, and above it of a bright red, for the space of six

or seven  inches—but  in  ascending upwards, it gra-

dually diminished in intensity.!


  k Gordon's Dissertation, quoted  from the Comment, de Rebus. Lipsice,
1793, torn. 35.  Metzger probably  mentions the same case, p. 390; and I
am in doubt whether the above is also not the same that is said to have hap-
pened  in Denmark.  See London Med. Repository, vol. 9, p. 246.  If not,
we have several instances of this most atrooious crime; for in the work last
quoted, is another stated,  of a female in the Department de VOurthe in
France, aged forty, who died after a short illness, which was manifested by
a considerable tumefaction ofthe genitals, by uterine haemorrhages, vomit-
ing, and abundant purgation.  This woman confided to two of her neigh-
bours, that her illness was occasioned by powdered arsenic, which her hus-
band, in concubifo, had  himself insinuated into the parts.   The body was
examined by the proper officers.  They declared that they found the vulva
and vagina in a state of gangrene—the abdomen much distended with air,
and the°intestines inflamed and gangrenous.  The culprit was arrested, con-
victed  and executed.                               .     ...
  It is also mentioned, that the Copenhagen College of Medicine, when the
case above cited was referred to them, and when some doubted the possi-
bility of this mode of poisoning, made some experiments  by  introducing
arsenic into the vagina of mares.   It produced inflammation, tumefaction,
and death.  On dissection, the genital parts were found gangrenous, and
rhere was an effusion of bloody serum in  the abdomen, with traces of  in-
flammation in the stomach, intestines, lungs, aorta, thoracic duct, &c.  Lon-
don Med. Repository, vol. 9, p. 246, from the Journal de Medicine. See
also, with, reference to this mode of administration, the case mentioned in
page 164, vol. 2.
  t Orfila, vol.2, p. 641 
188             MINERAL  POISONS.
   Externally, fa J Applied to a wound or ulcer, or
even to the skin.
   Of this,  there are some instructive cases on recordw
Or. Desgranges relates the following :—A chamber-
maid  had been so imprudent as to rub her head with
an ointment containing a portion of arsenic, for the
purpose of destroying vermin.   Her head was per-
fei tlv sound, without-the least scratch.  But in six or
seven days after, it began to swell; the ears,  which
were  twice their natural size, became  covered  with
scabs, as were also several  parts of Use head ; all the
glands of  the  jaw and  neck rapidly enlarged; the
face was tumefied, and  almost  erysipelatous.   Her
pulse was hard, tense and febrile ;  the tongue parch-
ed, and the skin dry.  To  these  were  added excru-
ciating pain, and a sensation of great heat. . Vrertigo,
fainting, cardialgia, occasional vomiting, thirst, ardor
urinas, constipation, trembling ofthe limbs, aud deli-
rium were  also present.  Dr. Desgranges  treated the
complaint  as an inflammatory disease,  and in a day
or two after, the body, and especially the hands and
feet,  were covered with a  considerable eruption of
small  pimples, with white heads like millet.   This
eruptiou in time dried up and desquamated,  and  she
finally recovered,  but during her convalescence  the
hair fell  off.*
   Belloc has recorded a  similar instance.  A female
aged fifty-six, in good health, but of a  delicate  con-
stitution, had the imprudence to wash her body with
a solution  of arsenic in water, to cure the itch.   Her
body  swelled prodigiously,  and she was covered with
an erysipelatous eruption.  She  dragged out a pain-
ful existence for two years, but  during  life, was al-
ways  afflicted with a trembling of the limbs.f
  Roux  amputated the schirrou's breast of a girl of
eighteen.   The wound  did well, but while rapidly
closing, an ulceration,  accompanied with slight dart-
ing pains,  made its appearance  in the centre.   He

  * Fodere, vol. 4, p. 123.         t Belloc, p. 121 
MINERAL POISONS.
189
applied the arsenical paste, as it is called in France,
and of which arsenious acid is  the  basis.   The day
after, she was seized with violent colics, and  expe-
rienced some vomiting.   Two days afterwards,  she
died in violent convulsions.   The body, which was
covered  with large ecchymoses, 'quickly  putrefied,
and on  opening  it, the internal  surface of the sto-
mach, and a great part of the  intestinal canal, were
found in a state of inflammation,  and sprinkled over
with black spots.*
  To these I will only  add the following.  A lady
found some arsenic, and  not knowing what  it was,
put a little in her mouth, in order to taste it.  She
was certain, however, that  she had not  swallowed
any of it.   No manifest effects  occurred immediately,
but iu twelve hours she became vertiginous, and con-
vulsions supervened, and continued during  the day
and night.   The day following,  her body, but espe-
cially her head, face and neck, were all covered over
with  red spots like measles, with excessive glowings
and tinnitus aurium.  Her other symptoms, however,
began to abate, and in five or six days  she recovered,
but remained deprived of a fine constitution for several
years, f
  There can be no doubt, that the various quack pre-
parations used both  in England,  France, and this
country, for the cure of cancer, and which  have  ar-
senic for their base, have in most  cases proved de-
structive to  the  patients.   Certainly governments
ought to interdict their  application,  except  in  the
hands of regular practitioners.^

  * Orfila, vol. 1, p. 124.
  t Case by Dr. Thomson, in Edinburgh Med. Essays, vol. 4, p. 41.  *
  X In France, the pate arsenicale is used.  It consists of cinnabar 70 parts,
sanguis draconis 22, and arsenious acid 8, made into paste at the time of
applying it.  In England, Plunkelt's ointment, made of arsenious acid, sul-
phur, and the powdered leaves of  the ranunculus flammula and cotula fce-
tida ,' and Davidson's remedy for cancer—arsenious acid and powdered hem-
lock. (Paris' Pharmacologia, p. 209.) In the United States, Davison's can-
cer plaster—some preparation of arsenic.—As far back as the time of Haller,
cases are related of death ensuing from the external application of arsenic
to cancers and  ill-conditioned ulcers. (Edinburgh Med. and  Surg. Journal,
vol.  14, p. 643.)  Dr. Franns mention* a ca5<>, where an ointment contain- 
190
MINERAL POISONS.
   During the period of the plague of London,  amu-
 lets of  arsenic were worn suspended over the regiou
 of the heart, as a preservative against infection. Even
 this proved dangerous, and  Dr. Mead severely  re-
 prehends it.
   (b) By inhaling its vapours.
   I have already adverted to the effects produced on
 the miners in Germany, and will now mention those
 caused  in the copper smelting works of Cornwall and
 Wales, in consequence of that metal in its  crude state
 being mixed with arsenic.   Dr. Paris states,  that in
 their vicinity, " horses and cows commonly lose their
 hoofs,  and  the latter are often seen in  the neighbor-
 ing pastures crawling  on their knees, and not unfre-
 quently suffering from a cancerous affection in  their
 rumps,  whilst the milch cows,  in addition  to these
 miseries,  are soon deprived of their milk.   The men
 employed in these works are more healthy than  we
 could a priori  have supposed possible,  but the  anti-
 dote on which they rely with confidence,  whenever
 they are infected  with more than  an ordinary portion
 of arsenical  vapour,  is sweet oil, and an annual sum is
 allowed by  the proprietors in order that it may  be
 constantly supplied."
   It deserves notice,  he adds,  that the smelters are
 occasionally affected with a cancerous disease in the
 scrotum, similar to that which infests chimney sweep-
 ers.*
   The effects ofthe vapours of arsenic in the labora-
 tory are no less marked.  " Whilst Tachenius (says
 Van Swieten)  endeavored to fix the arsenic,  by re-
 peated  sublimations, the vessels being open,  he in-
 spired a very sweet air, but  in a half hour,  felt the
 consequences of  his  imprudence.   He   not only
 breathed with difficulty, but suffered  convulsions  in
 all the members of his body, and passed bloody urine

 ing arsenic was applied  to a tumour.  Paralysis shortly followed—every
joint seemed to be enlarged and tumid—the intellectual functions were
 ■early destroyed, and death ensued suddenly and unexpectedly. New-York
 Med. and Phys. Journal, vol. 2, p. 28.
  ' Paris' Pharmacologia, p. 209. 
MINERAL POISONS.
191
with great pain."*  Dr. Gordon mentions the follow-
ing as occurring  to himself.  Whilst subliming ar-
senic, the vessel broke from the heat,  and on remov-
ing it hastily from the fire, he inhaled a small quan-
tity.  A sense of pain and tightness  about the prae-
cordia was inmediately  felt,  with  a  difficulty of
breathing and  violent cough.  The pulse  was not
changed,  but weaker and quicker than natural.  On
the next day, all the symptoms were gone except the
cough, nausea aud anorexy.   These were removed
by  a cathartic.f
  Appearances on  dissection.   According to the
division  previously adopted, we shall separate these
into two classes,  and notice first the  appearances of
such as survive several days.
   The cases of this class are few in number, and they
are liable to  lead to wrong inferences, since from the
length of time, other causes, as previous disease, or
the action of remedies,  may modify  their results.   I
shall follow  my former guide at this time,  and then
mention  some  additional cases.   " In three cases,"
he observes,  " the body is mentioned as  discoloured
or marked with livid spots, in one even blistered, and
one was highly fetid.  Two only were examined in-
ternally.   In one, the intestines were inflated, and
the intestines  and stomach red,  with   turgid  ves
sels ; in the other,  the fauces and  stomach were yel-
low, and the  heart, spleen and lungs, dark blue."J
  Mr. Henry  Earle communicated  a  case to  Mr.
Brodie,  of a woman in St. Bartholomew's  hospital,
who had taken arsenic, but who recovered of the im-
mediate symptoms.  She died  at the end of four or
five days, and on examination,  extensive ulcerations
were found in the mucous membrane of the stomach
and intestines.
   The case related by  Mr. Murray, aud which has
been already noticed, is very interesting, inasmuch as
the individual lived  seven  days,  aud during  that

  * Gordon, p. 15.   t Ibid p. 16.
  t Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 7, p. 87 
192             mineral poisons.
 period,  retained a considerable portion of strength.
 His body was examined  three days and eight hours
 after death.   The right ear and scalp were of a deep
 blue colour.  The back,  from head to foot was livid,
 on the chest and belly  there were  several spots  and
 streaks,  some green and others blue, while the shoul-
 ders and neck were mottled with livid ones.  The
 penis was  much swollen and red, and the scrotum
 was enlarged and of a dark blue colour.  On open-
 ing the abdomen, several ounces of a high coloured
 liquid were found.  The outer surface of the stom-
 ach, along the whole of its larger curvature, was of a
 dark red colour,  strongly marked.   On opening that
 viscus,  its  internal  surface was  found of  a brighter
 red, with lighter spots interspersed.  The duodenum,
 through  nearly its whole extent, and round it, was of
 a dark purple colour, and its internal coats were pul-
 py, thickened, and easily seperated  from the  perito-
 neal covering, while  In one roundish spot,  of the size
 of  a crown piece, the  villous and muscular coats
 were entirely wauting. Red  patches  were also ob-
 served on the inner surface ofthe jejunum  and ileon.
 The stomach and duodenum contained about a quart
 of a brown  semi-opaque, thickish liquid.   The lungs
 and heart  were  healthy.   The spleen  was gorged
 with blood, and the liver healthy.   The pharynx was
 of an unusually red colour.*
  Metzger  quotes a  case  from Zittman, where two
 grains of arsenic were first administered, and  in two
 days after,   an emetic.   Four days after, the dose of
 arsenic was repeated.  On dissection, eight ounces of
 coagulated  blood was found in the stomach, and this
 viscus was covered  with gangrenous spots.   The
 heart resembled a baked pear (a une poire sortant du
 four.)f
  Lastly, a case is mentioned  by Lieutaud, where a
 man  who took a drachm, died in eight days.   The

 * Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. lg, p. 170.
 t Metzger, p. 388. He also mentions that he ha< noticed inflammation of
Uie liver ii: this  cla^ of poisoning, p. 392 
MINERAL POISONS.                193
stomach  was deprived  of  its  villous  coat,  and was

fined  with  fluid  and charry  matter.   The  pylorus

was gangrenous.   The  intestines of a reddish  black

colour.*
    The appearances  observed  on those who die after

a few  hours illness, are  sufficiently various,  although

they agree in some leading particulars.   The follow-

ing may  be deemed a correct abstract drawn from the

histories of between  twenty and thirty  cases.f

   Tlie  external appearance  ot  the body is  not uni-

form.   In so .ie,  probably in  a majority of cases,  it

is marked  with livid  stripes  or patches,  of various

sizes, and in others with small ecchymoses.   Several

instances are related,   where the posterior  part was


  * Bigsby, in London Med. Repository, vol. 5, p 101.
  t In preparing tliis, I  have derived great assistance from the Edinburgh
Med. aud burg. Journal as already quoted, but particularly from a paper in
the London Vied. Repository, (vol. 5, p. 97,) entitled,  •" On  the effects of ar-
senic as they appear in .the human body after death, by J. J. Bigsby, M. D. of
the York Hospital, Chelsea. The author classifies the appearance of each
viscus in columns, nolices the age of each individual, and the time which
elapsed between taking the poison and death. The cases analyzed by him
are twenty iu number, viz:—1.  A woman aged 44, died in 9 hours—from
 Woifius, in Ephemerides Nat. Cur.  2. A girl aged 5 years, died in 12 hours
—Liavies, in Loudon .Vied, and Phys. Journal.  3. Woman aged 60, died in
12 Hours—Morgagni, Epist. Anat. 69, Ar . 3.  4. A man, died in a very short
time—Morgagni, Epist. Anat. 69, Art. 5.  5.  Child, died in 12 hours—El-
mailer, Epiiem. Nat. Curios. 6. Woman,  dose half  an ounce, died in 13
hours—John Hauler, Transactions of a Society for the promotion  of medi-
cal and chirurgical knowledge,  vol. 2,  p. 63. 7.  Woman aged  27 yeais,
died in  15 hours—Laborde, (Orfila.)  8. Woman aged 18, died in  15 hours
—Orfila. 9. Man died in 16 hours—Bonetus.  10. Child as;ed 8 years, died
in 21 hours—London Med.  Repository, vol. 2, p. 270.  11. Boy 17 years,
died in 21  hours—Dr. Yelloly,  Edinburgh Med. and Sure:. Journal, vol. 5.
12. Child, died in 24 hours—Fodtre.  13.  Child 3 years, died in 33 hours—
Davies, Loudon .Med. and Phys. Journal, vol. 28, p. 345.  14 Woman, time
unknown—ll'ttulcly,  Med Observ. and Inquiries, vol. 6, p. 337.   15.  Wo-
man, time unknown—Jones, Orfila, vol. 1, p. 140.  16. Man died  in eight
days, dose  one drachm—Lieutaud.  This I have already noticed. 17. A
child, mentioned by Wepfer. 18. Man mentioned by Chausxier, Edinburgh
Med. aud Surg. Journal, vol. 7, p. 92.  19. A  man, quoted  by Orfila froiu
Marc.   20.  A man, quoted by Orfi.afrom Sallin.—To these 1 may add the
following:—21. Tlie astonishing case by  Metzger, as already mentioned.
(Schlegel, vol. 4, p. 21.)  22. Man aged 22, died in about five or six hours
—csoden, in Londou Med.  Review  for April, 1611.  (Eclectic Repertory,
vol. 2, p. 325.)  23.  A man aged 19, took  an ounce,  died in seven hours—
Petligrew, from his Anniversary  Oration, London Med. Repository, vol. 11,
p. .j25.  24 &.25.  Two cases examined by Deveaux—Fodere, vol.4, p.263
26. A boy eight years old, lived 21 hours—London  Med. Repository, vol
2. p. 270.
VOL.  II.
25 
194
MINERAL POISONS.
black, and in one case the body was swoln,  and of a

bluish green  colour.*
   In one case the tongue was inflamed and  thicken-

ed.   In  three,  the  cesophagus  was found inflamed,

and in one of these,  the symptoms during life, and

the  appearances after  death, were  very mild, but in

the other two, both  were violent.
   The nature of the contents of the stomach has been

various,  both as to colour  and consistence,  and this

of course depends greatly on accident.   In  twelve
cases out of  twenty-three,  arsenic  in  substance was

found  among the  solids and  fluids,  while in  a few

instances, the most minute chemical investigation could

not detect the least trace.
   The villous coat of the stomach is  very generally

in a  high state of inflammation,  but  in three  cases

none  was discoverable.  In  twelve cases, this coat

was  found eroded  or  abraded,  and  this was often
seated in  a diffuse  surface  of  intense  inflammation.

The erosions have  the form of angular, or somewhat

circular depressions, with regularly defined or ragged


  * Gmelin says, that in some cases the hair, nails, and joints have sepa-
rated on the application of the slightest force.  It is, however, very doubtful
whether, according to the assertion of some writers, putrefaction follows
rapidly after death. It would rather seem, from the result of experiments
on animals,  that bodies do not mortify sooner from this cause, than from
many  other diseases.  Metzger, in a case examined eighteen days after
death, and eight days after burial, found no foetor, or sign of putridity,  and
there were no livid spots, except on the  ends of  the fingers. (Metzger in
Schlegel, vol. 4, p. 22.)  Professor Pfaff, of Kiel, examined a body poison*
ed by arsenic, and although it had laid fourteen days in the grave, yet pu-
trefaction had not made any visible progress. (London Med. aud Phys.
Journal, vol. 16, p. 95.)  Dr. Welper, of Berlin, has made similar observa-
tions,  and found the bodies changed in some degree to the state of mum-
mies. (Gordon, p. 24.)  There is also a curious case related by Dr. Gordon,
from the Trans, of the Phys. Med. Soc. of Erlangen, 1^12.  A servant-maid
poisoned three heads of families with oxide of arsenic. Suspicion was not
excited for a length of time, but the bodies were finally dug up. One had been
buried two years, the second, fourteen months, and the third, five months.
Putrefaction had progressed very slowly.  The skin resembled mahogany,
and cut like the rind of an old cheese.  The adipose substance, and muscles
of the abdomen,  were converted into  a mass resembling lard or cheese,
(adipocire ?) and the peculiar odour from the graves resembled fetid cheese.
No poison could be detected by the use of tests.  Dr. Bachman was ready
to hang the female,  and endeavoured to support his opinion by various
cases, tending to show that the administration of arsenic retarded putrefac-
tion.  The female, however, confessed her crimes, and thus prevented the
necessity of acting on this doubtful, or at least imperfect proof. Gordon,
p. 22to27. 
MINERAL POISONS.
195
edges, in which, and on the surface, pieces of arsenic
were very commonly discovered, and in one case ac-
tually agglutinated to the parts.  This substance has
also been seen adhering to the inflamed portion ofthe
stomach,  with an increase of the morbid  effect in its
vicinity.   The  abrasions are of various dimensions,
and in extremely violent cases, extend over the whole
cavity, and  leave  the rest of the stomach extremely
thin, and almost transparent.
  Sometimes the villous coat is very easily separable.
The inflammatory process seems to be proportionate
to the time that elapses between  death and the exhi-
bition of the poison, and relatively  according  to the
empty or full state of the stomach at  the time, and the
medical treatment employed.
  The muscular coat  is not often named, but in vio-
lent cases it is also affected.   Corrugation of the sto-
mach is a very common appearance.
  The peritoneal coat is not often affected, but when
it is so, it is found inflamed.   In milder cases, the
stomach  has been found thickened in several places,
as if  by  coagulable lymph ; and in  one case, indeed,
a thickening of the coats was the only alteration ob-
servable.
  Gangrene was observed in  three  cases, near the
pylorus.
  The intestines partake of similar disease, but not
so violently.   The mucous membrane of  the duode-
num in particular,  is  usually inflamed to  a high de-
gree—it  has even been eroded.   Portal has observed
it actually perforated with a ragged  orifice.  The in-
flammation declines gradually in passing down the
intestines, and usually disappears in the  larger ones,
although they have been met with of a reddish black
colour.
   Three  cases  are mentioned,  two by  Dr. Baillie,
and one by Mr. Davies, where,  on  examination, the
rectum was  seen diseased :  in one instance, high in-
flammation, and in the remainder, ulcers and gangrene.
   The peritoneal coat of the intestines is sometimes 
196
MINERAL POISONS.
 more  vascular  than natural.   The duodenum and
 jejiiuum have been seen thickened, and the colon cor-
 rugated.
   The liver is often spoken of as sound, but  in one
 case it was grey, and in another gorged with blood.
   The bladder was in one instant e whiter than usual
 on its internal surface, and in Mr. Soden's case,  it
 was contracted to the size  of a walnut.
   The lungs are very generally described as affected.
 In some instances they are livid, or have livid spots
 on their surface.   In one case they were inflated, and
 in another flaccid.
   The brain has seldom  been examined.   It is ge-
 nerally natural, but in one history it is stated as un-
 usually turgid  on its external face,  and  the plexus
 choroides as very vascular.
   The heart is usually natural.  Its cavities are often
 found  filled with fluid blood.   In  one  case it wag
 flaccid.
   The blood seems  to have differed very considera-
 bly—at one time being black and coagulated : at an-
 other, black and fluid ; and at a third, florid and fluid.
   Effects of arsenic on animals.  This deserves
 coi sideration, from  the light it  may afford in deter-
 mining on  the nature of symptoms  and morbid ap-
 pearances  in the human  system.  Several  able  ob-
 servers and experimentalists have directed their at-
 tention  to  this point,  and I shall notice the more
 important results obtained by them.
   Dr.  Jaeger, of  Stuttgard, examined the effects of
 this substance on all classes of organized bodies, ve-
 getable and animal; and  most  of his  experiments
 were made with a solution of the white oxide in  wa-
 ter, in  the proportion of one to sixteen.   He found it
 a general and quick poison for plants at every period
 of their life, with the exception perhaps of a few of
 the simplest forms  of vegetable existence.   Their
 various parts died in succession, as the  particles of
the poisou reached  them.   In  animals, death  was
preceded in every instance, from the infusory animal- 
MINERAL poisons.
197
 culse up to man, by inordinate motions, and the secre-
 tion of lymph  was increased  most remarkably from
 the mucous  membranes.   Frequent fluid stools  took
 place in all classes of animals ; in those in which
 mucus is secreted on the surface, it u as  remarkably
 increased, and crabs ejected a great deal of froth from
 the bronchial openings.   The  power of  voluntary
 motion, and  susceptibility for external  stimuli,  de-
 creased ; the  respiration  of those  animals  which
 breathe by lungs, became difficult and laborious, and
 warm-blooded   animals  experienced extraordinary
 thirst.   In birds and mammalia, frequent and violent
 vomiting took  place,  and  commonly was the com-
 mencement of the scene to which convulsions put  an
 end.    Habbits, however,  which  ruminate,  did not
 vomit.
   Arsenic exerted the most powerful effects when  it
 was injected  into  the veins, or applied to a bleeding
 wound ;* next, when it was introduced into the sto-
 mach,  but less so when it was injected into the large
 intestines, which have fewer absorbing vessels.   Ap-
 plied to the sound skin, and to a wounded muscle,  if
 dry,  it seldom  produced any eftect; and animals co-
 vered  with scales or shells, did not  suil'er at all from
 the external application of arsenic.   Applied directly
 to the nerves, it was  inert.   Lastly,  he found  that
 animals were never killed  more certainly or quickly
 by arsenic, than when  it was  injected into the abdo-
 men.    But upon this  he  lays no stress, as the same
 effect was produced by most infusions.
   Iu  whatever way the arsenic was applied, Dr. Jae-

  * There can be no doubt of the truth of this  statement. Dr. Gordon
 quotes the following experiments, given to him by his friend Dr. Campbell,
which prove how small & quantity externally applied is sufficient to destroy
life. Five drops of a saturated solution of the white oxide of arsenic were placed
in a wound in the neck of a young cat. The animal was seized with vomit-
ing, and died in four days.  The stomach internally was much inflamed
near the pylorus, and the small intestines were also greatly inflamed both
internally and externally. In another instance, two  drops of arsenic acid
(the effects of which only differ in beini; more powerful and rapid) were
put on  the head of a cat, and she was dead i,i 24 hours. Vomiting took
place, and the stomach and cesophagus were inflamed. Gordon, p. 19.
\. 
198             MINERAL  POISONS.
ger observed after death  no change upon the skiu.
The gullet, and in birds the crops also, exhibited ge-
neralTy a slight redness ;  and further down,  purple-
red stripes,  more numerous in the vicinity ofthe car-
dia, which, as well as the stomach itself, in  animals
having a soft villous coat to their stomachs, was some-
times of an uniform purple-red colour, and sometimes
spotted with it.  The muscular stomach of graminiv-
erous birds,  however, shewed no appearance of  red-
ness ; and in the aponeurotic portion of the  stomach
of a horse poisoned by arsenic, there were no traces
of inflammation, which was otherwise general.  The
villous coat ofthe stomach is almost always softened,
and as if macerated, and also somewhat swollen ; and
in general, it can be easily torn, or rubbed off in pieces
with the finger, from the coat beneath it.  The in-
flammatory redness is  not seated in the villous coat,
which remains perfectly white, but in the  nervous
coat,  which is remarkably red, and  exhibits every
where purple-red warts or eminences.  The  author,
however, often saw this separation of the villous from
the nervous coat,  without any inflammatory  redness
ofthe  latter.  These changes continue, though in a
less degree, through the small, to  the  vicinity of the
large intestines, which  are in general free from them,
and  only contain  an increased quantity of  effused
mucus ; but the rectum again is inflamed, and its in-
ner coat swollen  and softened.  These appearances
are not constant, and are very various in degree.
   The other mucous membranes were less generally
affected, but he sometimes found the trachea red  and
inflamed,  and in one  instance the  urethra of a dog.
Iu no instance, real inflammation  of the peritoneum,
but its vessels were always turgid with stagnating
blood.  The voluntary muscles were constantly  and
universally rigid ; the limbs sometimes bent,  but  ge-
nerally extended; the heart,  urinary bladder, gall-
bladder and intestines, were  rarely contracted,  but
frequently distended by their contents.  The veins,
especially of the abdomen,  were constantly turgid 
MINERAL, poisons.
199
with much black fluid blood, and a similar stagna-
tion was observed in the cavities  of the heart, espe-
cially of the right side.  The lungs in general were
natural, as was also the brain.
  Putrefaction seemed neither to be hastened nor re-
tarded by their being poisoned with arsenic, whether
they were buried or not.   The generation of infav>ry
animals, the production of larva} and subterraneous
vegetation  in  and about the bodies of poisoned ani-
mals, took place as usual.  Dr. Jaeger was pari.ii ular
in these observations, from its being a disputed point.
He,  however,  remarked, that the immediate  contact
of the arsenical solution,  seemed in  some degree to
retard the putrefactiou of  the part, to which  it was
applied in sufficient quantity.
  As to the local effects of arsenic, he observed that
when applied to the sound skin, it seldom injured it.
If applied  to a wound, it never, after  death, was ob-
served to  be gangrenous or inflamed—was  rarely
swollen,  but generally pale ; and for a considerable
extent, the subcutaneous  cellular membrane was fill'
ed with  much stagnant, gelatinous  fluid.   The ceso-
phagus,  stomach  and intestines,  were  commonly,
though not always, inflamed when arsenic was ad-
ministered by the mouth.   He never noticed real ero-
sions, ulcerations, and  gangrene  of the viscera.  In
the horse already mentioned, and into whose jugular
vein two ounces of  arsenical solution were injected,
and which was put to death twenty-nine  hours after-
wards, there were only some discoloured  spots in the
left ventricle.*
  Mr. Brodie,  of London, performed numerous ex-
periments on animals with arsenic, and in doing so,
either applied it to  a wound, or injected it into the
stomach.   The results were similar in all essential
circumstances.  The  symptoms  were, 1. Paralysis
of the hind-legs, and afterwards  ofthe other parts of

  * Review of Jaeger's Inauj. Dissert, de Effectihus Arsenici in  Varios Or-
janismos, &c. iu Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 7, p. 80 to 84. 
200
MINERAL  POISONS.
the body;  convulsions, dilatation of the pupils of the
eyes, and insensibility.   2.  A feeble,  slow, and in-
termitting pulse.   3. Pain in the region of the abdo-
men ; preternatural secretion of  mucus from the  ali-
mentary canal,  and sickness  and  vomiting in those
animals  which are capable of vomiting.   These three
classes of symptoms respectively indicate disorder of
the heart, brain, and alimentary  canal.   Mr. Brodie
also found that  the symptoms occurred sooner when
the arsenic was applied to a wound, than when  it is
given internally.
   In whatever way the poison  is  administered,  the
inflammation is confined to the stomach and intestines.
He never observed any appearances of it  in the pha-
rynx or cesophagus.*   This inflammation took place
more readily imleed from the external application of
the poison, than  from its administration  internally,
and it  preceded any  appearance of inflammation of
the wound.  The degree of inflammation varied  con-
siderably.   In some it was very  slight, in others  con-
siderable, and it appears to be greater or less accord-
ing to the time which  elapses before the animal dies.
The mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines
assumes a florid red colour—becomes soft and pulpy,
and is  separable  without  much difficulty from  the
cellular  coat, which has its natural appe ranee.   In
some instances,  there  are small spots of extravasated
blood on the inner  surface of the raucous membrane,
or  between it and the cellular coat, and this  occurs ,
independently of vomiting.   Mr. Brodie never found
ulceration  or sloughing  of the stomach or intestines,
but he suggests, that if the animal survives for a cer-
tain length of time after the infltimination has begun,
it is reasonable to conclude  that it may terminate in

 * Dr. Campbell, however, in several  experiments with the white oxide
externally applied, found the cesophagus greatly inflamed.  This appearance
was witnessed by Dr. Gordon.  (Gordon, p. 20.)  Orfila mentions it  as a
common circumstance in persons dead from  poison, and he also quotes a
case in which it was distinctly  observed. (Orfila, vol. 1, p. 140.)  See also
the cases of Blandy and Ogilvie hereafter cited. 
MINERAL POISONS.
201
one or other of these ways.   And it is important not
to mistake the layers of coagulated blood for sloughs.*
   I shall lastly mention the result of a number of ex-
periments made by Dr. Duncan, Jun. and Dr. Camp-
bell.   They are summed up by the former as follows.
" 1. Arsenic does not act chemically on animal  mat-
ter, living or dead.  2. Its chief effects are to produce
a disease  somewhat  analogous to  cholera morbus,
whether it be taken directly into the  stomach itself,
or inserted into the subcutaneous cellular membrane
of a remote part, or applied to a delicate membrane.
In some few cases, where the action of the poison is
most intense,  death occurs from the sickness or faint-
ing, without vomiting or purging.  3. Frequently a
considerable interval intervenes between its being re-
ceived, even in solution, into the stomach, and its
action.   4. Neither paralysis of the voluntary mus-
cles,  nor convulsions,  nor delirium,  nor  coma,  nor
disordered respiration or circulation, are ordinary
symptoms of the  disease produced by arsenic.  5.
After  death,  we were frequently unable to discover
any organic lesion, and we generally found that the
inflammation was less,  in proportion as the arsenic
was more speedily fatal."f
   As a supplement to  these  quotations, I may add
sqme facts which  were elicited on  an extraordinary
trial,  which took  place in 1812,  in England.   The
prisoner, Daniel Dawson, was indicted for poisoning
several horses at  Newmarket.   He effected this by
injecting arsenical solution,  with a  syringe, into the
watering  troughs.   Shortly after taking it,  the ani-
mals staggered and rolled about in great agony,  and
they appeared to be in great pain from the intestines.
Mr. Bowles,  veterinary surgeon, opened a colt and
found the stomach and  intestines extensively inflam-
ed.  He also mentioned in his testimony, that he had

  * Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 8, p. 459, from Phil. Transac-
tions. From his experiments, Mr. Brodie draws the  conclusion, that arsenic
does not produce its deleterious effects, until it has passed into the circula*
tion.
  t Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 11, p. 127.
    VOL. IT.              2G 
202              MINERAL POISONS.
poisoned horses by way of experiment, and on open-
ing  one of them,  the same appearances were  found
as in the colt.  The water in the trough was proved
to contain arsenic,  and  the additional testimony was
so conclusive,  that the prisoner  was condemned and
executed.*
   Chemical  proofs.   These form  the third  and
most important mode of proof,  in cases of poisoning,
and  I shall  state the numerous ones proposed for the
detection of arsenic, with as much conciseness as pos-
sible, although I may at the same time observe, that
the ample discussion which all of them have under-
gone, renders a full notice very necessary.
   Some remarks on  the solubility of  arsenious
acid, are previously requisite.   Chemists  formerly
differed  greatly  in their  statements  on this point.,
According to Bergman, eighty parts of  water at the
temperature^of sixty degrees, dissolve one part, while
the same quantity is dissolved by fifteen parts of boil-
ing water.   Navier asserts that eighty  parts of boil-
ing water are requisite to dissolve one of the oxide ;
while according to Hagen,  thirty grains require four
ounces of boiling water to dissolve them.  These dis-
cordant  results led Klaproth to investigate the accu-
rate  proportions, and  the results of his experiments
are as follows.   Four  hundred  parts of cold water
at the temperature of sixty degrees  dissolve one part
of white oxide, while  only thirteen parts of boiling
water  are requisite to dissolve  the same quantity.
He also examined how much of  the oxide would be
retained by the boiling water,  after it  was cold,  and
found that one  hundred parts of water retained three
of the oxide, and the remainder separated in the form
of tetrahedral crystals.f
   Chemists  have very generally  assented to the cor-

  * Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 8, p. 351. Edinburgh Annual
Register, vol. 5, part 2, p. 112.  Some systematic writer, assert that arsenic
is innoxious to horses, but certainly the al ,--e facts contradict this opinion.
  t Annals, vol. 4, p. 132.  Klaproth suggests that the cold of winter may
produce some modifications in the latter proportions. 
MINERAL POISONS.              203
rectness of these experiments,*  and the practical di-
rection to be drawn from them is, that boiling water
should be  employed in all  cases  which require ex-
amination.   It is  also  advisable to employ a some-
what  larger  proportion  of water than is  indicated
above.
  It may also  be mentioned, that alkohol, in the pro-
portion  of eighty  parts, dissolves one  of  arsenious
acid.f
  The methods proposed for detecting the presence
of arsenic, are 1.  The application of certain re-agents
or tests to  its solution,  and  2.  Its reduction  to a me-
tallic state.  Of the first class,  the following may be
mentioned.
  (a) Lime water.  This gives a fine white precipi-
tate, with  arsenious acid, of arsenite of lime, soluble
however in an excess  of  the arsenious solution.—
Among the  Germans,   it  appears  to be a favorite
test.   Jaeger  recommends  that  it should be used re-
cently prepared  and  hot.   He found  it sufficiently
delicate to  precipitate one  thirteenth of a grain of
arsenic  when dissolved in one hundred grains of wa-
ter, or one fortieth in fifty grains.:j:
  (bj Ammoniaret of copper has also been recom-
mended by  German chemists as a very delicate test.
In  the state of saturated solution, it  strikes an evi-
dent green colour with a solution of the white oxide,
containing one five-hundreth  of a grain dissolved in
fifty grains of  water.||   Orfila, who in his work  calls
it the sulphate  of ammonical  copper,  observes,  that
this test, of all those furnished  by copper,  deserves
the preference, on account of  its extreme sensibility.
It must however be noticed, he adds, that if this sul-

  * The experiments of Fischer led him to the result, that white oxide of
arsenic is insoluble  in water, and that it must be changed into an acid by
combining with  a greater portion of oxygen, before this can take place.
Mr.  Richard Phillips has,  however, fully shown the incorrectness  of this
opinion.  Annals of Philosophy, vol. 7, p. 33, and vol. 8, p. 152.
  t Brande, p. 264.
  X Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol.  7, p. 84. Lime-water enters
into the processes recommended by Rose and Fischer. See Orfila, vol. 1,
p. 135 and 136.                || Jaeger. 
204
MINERAL POISONS.
 phate of ammoniacal  copper be much concentrated,
 the precipitation will not take place.*
   An objection of importance has however been point-
 ed out by Rose against it.   If any of the fluids to be
 operated on, contain tannin,  as tea for example, this
 re-agent will produce no effect, f   This  is evidently
 calculated to weaken  its value.
   (c) Scheele's green  is another test derived from
 the application  of a  salt of copper  to the  arsenious
 acid.  It  is so  named  from its  discoverer.  In his
 Chemical Essays, he directs that a certain quantity of
 sulphate of copper be  dissolved in water,  and that
 this solution be aided by heat.   The  same  quantity
 ofthe potash of commerce,  and a less portion of  the
 white oxide of arsenic  are then  to  be dissolved, in
 another vessel, in water.   The latter solution is  to be
 strained through  linen,  and a small  quantity  of it
 added from time to time to the dissolved sulphate of
 copper.   A beautiful grass-green precipitate is  de-
 posited,  which on being washed and dried,  forms the
 paint in  question. J
   Dr. Bostock has examined this test  with consider-
 able  attention.  He recommends  the following pro-
 portions : white oxide of arsenic one part, potash  three
 parts, and sulphate of copper five parts, as best calcu-
 lated to produce the required appearance ;  and in or-
 der to discover the degree of minuteness to which it

  * Orfila, vol. 1, p. 106.          t Jaeger.
  t Murray's Chemistry, vol. 3, p. 356.  « To a little of the arsenical solu-
 tion, add a single drop of the solution of carbonate of potash,  and a few
 drops of a solution of sulphate of copper.  The presence of arsenic will be
 manifested by a yellowish-green  precipitate." (Henry, vol  2  p 270)—
 •Arsenite of copper, called Scheele's green, is prepared by the old  nre,
 scr.ption of mixing a solution of two parts of sulphate of copper in 44 of
 water, with a solution of two parts of potash of commerce, and one of arse-
 nious acid, also in 44 of water." (Ure, Art. Copper.) « To the solution of
■arsenic, add ai drop of solution of subcarbonate of potassa, and then  a drop
 or two of solution of sulphate of copper.  An apple-green precipitate indi-
 cates arsenic/' (Brande, p. 270.)  I add these formula, because ft has been
 »S  p        St-gree? 'I e^r obtained ^ using the subcarbonate of
 potash.  Pure or caustic potash, it is asserted, is necessary.  The quotations
 rLrHe;fTdentlyr1SprT,theC,°rr.eCtBess of this  opinion, but it must
 n «Sl! ♦?  same time that a solution of pure potash is best calculated
 to produee the characteristic appearance.  See Henry, vol. 2, p. 270. 
MINERAL POISONS.
205
is capable of being carried,  he dissolved  one fortieth
of a grain of arsenic in sixty grains of water, forming
one two thousand four hundreth of the whole weight
ofthe fluid ; the proportion  of potash and sulphate of
copper was  then added, and the result was, that the
green was perfectly obvious.
   It deserves  mention also,  that if the  sulphate of
copper  and potash be added to each  other,  without
the arsenic, a delicate sky-blue is produced, instead of
the grass-green precipitate.
   In commenting on this test, Dr. Bostock remarks,
that  we should always  view the fluid by reflected,
and not by transmitted light, and  that when we come
to minute experiments,  they  should be examined by
day light.   " By the light of a candle," he adds,  " it
is difficult to distinguish between delicate shades of
blue and green,  and a weak solution of sulphate of
copper, without any addition, when held between the
eye and the window,  frequently  presents  a greenish
tinge.   Coloured  fluids  are best  seen by  placing a
sheet of white paper behind the glasses in which they
are contained."*
   The value of this re-agent was very generally ac-
knowledged until the occurrence  of a trial for poison-
ing, in Cornwall, in 1817.   The particulars of  this
case are detailed below, f   And  it is only necessary

   * Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 5, p. 169.
   t Robert Sawle Donnal, surgeon, of Falmouth, was tried at Launceston,
in Lent assizes, 1817, for poisoning  Mrs. Elizabeth Downing, his mother-
in-law, and also of Falmouth.  It appeared in evidence, that Mrs. Downing
had breakfasted and dined at the prisoner's house in October, and returned
home very ill, retching and vomiting, with a very  violent cramp ; and she
continued so three or four days after.  On the 3d of November, she wag
prevailed on, after much persuasion, to drink tea with him again.  She was
then in perfect health, and had just come out of church.  Cocoa was pro-
 vided for her, and whilst drinking part of the second cup, she was taken
 very sick.  She was soon after put  to bed, and died about eight o'clock
 next morning.  Mr. Richard Edwards, a physician of Falmouth, was called
 to visit the deceased on the 3d of November.  He found her very drowsy,
 and her pulse fluttering.  The prisoner considered the disease as cholera
 morbus, but in the opinion of Dr. Edwards, cholera morbus would not pro-
 duce death in less than two or three days. On dissection, the stomach was
 found inflamed and  soft, and its contents, when tested by the sulphate of
 copper and the ammoniaco-nitrate of silver, gave the characteristic appear-
 ance of arsenic.  On the part of the prisoner, several physicians deposed
 that the symptoms stated resembled those of cholera morbus, and also that 
206
MINERAL POISONS.
to mention here, that a physician, (Dr. Neale,) swore
that on adding the sulphate of copper and potash to
a  decoction  of onions,  he found a green precipitate
produced, resembling that caused by arsenic in com-
bination  with  them.    Subsequent  experiments by
other  persons  have however hardly confirmed his
assertion in its full extent, but they have left a degree j|
of  uncertainty  sufficient to injure its character in a
material manner.
  Dr. Paris  asserts, that from a fair and appropriate
series of experiments, he has  satisfactorily establish-
ed, that the  above  opinion was  grounded on an op-
tical fallacy, arising from the blue precipitate assum-
ing a green  colour, in consequence  of  having  been
viewed through a yellow medium.-  As for example, J
<( a few drops of a solution of sub-carbonate of potash
were  added to  the decoction of onions—its colour
deepened to a reddish yellow ; the sulphate of coppei
was  then applied,  when  a precipitate fell down,'
which was deemed to be of a vivid green hue, but on
pouring off  the supernatant liquid,  and transferring
the precipitate on white paper, it assumed a blue col-
our, without the least tinge of green."*  He adds that
the yellow colour imparted to the liquid by the alkali,
will generally take place on adding it to  the infusions^
of vegetable  substances.
   Mr. Marshall, of London, performed several ex-
periments with the  decoction of onions, but the agent
applied by him  was  somewhat different, being the
ammoniaco-sulphate of  copper.   The filtered liquor
of the decoction  was tested  with  this  salt, aud it caus-
ed a very slight hue of green; on adding twelve drops
this disease frequently destroyed the patient in 24 hours.  Dr. Neale swore
that he had tried the above tests on a decoction of onions,  (the deceased
had eaten onions on the day when she died,) and found both the green
and yellow precipitates which they yield when applied to arsenic
  These were the leading medical facts elicited on the trial, although there
was some circumstantial evidence leaning a-ainst the prisoner.  He was
acquitted.—[F have derived this statement principally from  English news-
papers ofthe above date.]
  * Paris' Pharmacologia, p. 215.  These  experiments should all be made
on a piece of writing paper, and not in a glass.
I 
MINERAL  POISONS.
207
    more,  a permanent transparent grass-green  colour
    was produced, but no cloud or  precipitate could be
    perceived.   When an equal quantity of the decoction
    and  distilled water was tested  in the same way, the
    tint of grass-green  still occurred, but it was  not so
    strong ;  and finally, when two drachms of the decoc-
    tion,  were diluted with one ounce of  distilled water,
    ho visible alteration  was induced by the  application
    ofthe sulphate.*
       The distinction  which  Mr.  Marshall  draws be-
    tween  the onions  and arsenic,  is,  that with  the for-
    mer, the  green colour only is  produced  without  any
    precipitate, while  with the latter, a very palpable se-
    diment is caused.   Unfortunately, however, even this
-   will not answer.    " A very dilute solution of arsenic
1   produces no  precipitate  with the test;  and again,  a
    decoction of onions, or other  mucilaginous vegetable,
W* prevents the production of a precipitate, when it would
     otherwise have taken  place."f
       It is evident that the importance of the test in ques-
    tion, is greatly impaired by these circumstances.  It
*'    should only he used as an adjunct to other and more
     decisive ones.J
       (d) A solution of sulphuretted hydrogen in water,
[)•.*  freshly prepared, is also  a very delicate re-agent, and

       * Marshall on Arsenic, p. 152.  These experiments account for the dis-
     crepancy noticed between some trials made in this state in 1818, in conse-
     quence of the noted Kesler case.  Dr. M'Neven added the  sulphate of cop-
     per to the expressed juice  of onions, and immediately the whole turned of a
     beautiful green. Dr. Low bruised and macerated an onion in distilled water,
     but the addition of the sulphate produced no change in the colour. The
     one was evidently stronger than the other.
       t Edinburgh Med. and  Surg. Journal, vol. 13, p. 519.  It would seem,  by
     Dr. Porter's experiments, that coffee added to a solution of sulphate of cop-
     per and carbonate of potash, without arsenic, also produces  a green precipi-
     tate  (Silliman's Journal, vol.  3, p. 355.)  But this is probably owing to the
■ - ■ ■ circumstance already noticed, of viewing it through a s^lass, and not on a
     piece of writing paper—by transmitted, and not by reflected li&ht. Quar-
     terly Journal of Foreisrn  Medicine and Surgery, vol. 5, p. 307.
       t It will greatly tend to determine the  nature ofthe suspected substance,
\     if we follow up, as it were, some of the. precipitates with other tests, and
     ascertain whether tiie  characteristic effects  are  produced.  Thus, for ex-
\     ample—" Take the arsenite of copper, wash i. well, and then add sulphuret-
     ted hydrogen water, the colour will change to a brownish red.  Ferro-
     prussiate of potash changes it to a blood-red ; nitrate of silver converts it to
     a yellow arsenite of silver.  Finally, reduce the precipitate."  Ure, Art.
     Arsenious Acid. 
£08
MINERAL  POISONS.
throws down the arsenic  in a golden yellow precipi-
tate.*  So minute  indeed is the operation of this sub-
stance,  that Mr. Children found it  to give a decided
yellow colour to an ounce measure of distilled water,
containing only one drop of  a saturated solution  of
arsenious  acid,  equal to  T£T  of a grain of the  solid
acid, or about TTVTth of the whole weight of solution^
Jaeger states that he detected the arsenic in  the  same
manner, in a solution which  contained the TTjWtn Part
of a grain of absolute weight, and in which it bore the
proportion to the water, of one  to 50.000 or 60.000.|
   There  are,  however,  some  results  affecting  this
test which deserve mention  ;  and one of these is the
fact noticed by Mr. Children, that two or three drops    ^
of phosphate of  soda added to the arsenical solution,
prevented  the action of the sulphuretted hydrogen.|)   -g
Should, therefore,  this  substance be contained in the    1
fluids of the stomach or intestines,   it would necessa-
rily counteract the expected effect.                       .  <
   Another circumstance is indicated by  Dr. Bostock,   jj
who, however, examined  the  test in a modified  form.   |
He used an alkaline hydro-sulphuret,{of potash) in his
experiments.   Fen drops of a strong solution of the
sulphuret were diffused in an ounce of water, and  to
this, four drops of a saturated arsenical solution  were
added.    Immediately,  an  orange   coloured  cream

  * On this point the following quotations are submitted to the considera-% ;.jj|
tion of chemists.  " If water saturated with sulphuretted hydrogen, be add-
ed to a solution of arsenious acid, a golden-yellow sediment will fall down."
(Henry's Chemistry, vol. 2, p. 270.)  " Sulphuretted hydrogen gas and
hydro-sulphuretted water, precipitate a golden sulphuret of arsenic." (Ure,
Art. Arsenious acid.)  '■ Sulphuretted hydrogen gas and hydro-sulphurated
water throw down the arsenious acid iu a yellow golden precipitate." (Or-
fila, vol. 1, p.  104.)—Now, on the other hand, Mr. Children observes, ■• If
a current of sulphuretted hydrogen be passed into fluid containing arsenioui
acid, it will occasion the appearance of a fine lemon-colour through  the  li-
quid." (Annals, New Series, vol.  1, p.  142.)  And Mr. R. Phillips says,   .
" The aqueous solution of sulphuretted hydrogen gas,  when added  to the
aqueous solution of arsenic, produces a yellow-coloured solution, without
ni,y precipitate." (Annals, New Series, vol. 1, p. 227.)  Is this discrepancy
a^ to precipitate or no precipitate, owing  to the minute quantities of each    \
used by the latter chemists ?                                       *
  t Annals, New Series, vol. 1, p. 143.
  X Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 7, p. 65.
  || Annals, New  Series, vol 1, p. 143. A  very little dilute (pure) acetic 1
acid, however, immediately produces the yellow colour.                  I 
MINERAL  POISONS.              20ft
formed itself at the surface of the fluid,  which  in the
course  of twenty-four  hours,  had  nearly subsided,
leaving a precipitate of the same colour at the bottom
of the glass.  Other substances  were now added to
the solution of the sulphuret, and the effect produced
by two of them deserves notice.  A drop of sulphuric
acid caused the  whole  to  assume a light  milky ap-
pearance, and after some time, a delicate yellow pre-
cipitate rose to the surface of the fluid, and coated the
sides of the glass.   The same experiment was  per-
formed with a saturated solution of tartarized antimo-
ny ; it required  a larger quantity of it  to produce the
same effect, but by the addition of  ten drops, the ap-
pearances  that presented  themselves were very simi-
 lar to  those where the arsenical solution had  been
 employed, as the  precipitate rose to the  surface and
 assumed a deep orange hue.  He adds, that as to the
 first, (the  sulphuric acid) a sufficiently clear  distinc-
 tion is afforded by the colour of the substances, as the
 sulphur  preserves  its peculiar light yellow, while the
 arsenic presents a deep shade of orange, but between
 the hydro-sulphurets of arsenic and of antimony, there
 is °reater difficulty of discrimination, since the colour
 of °the precipitate, aud the mode of its formation are
 very similar.*  The only variation was, that  more of
 antimony  was required to produce the effect, than of
 arsenic.
    These results certainly prove that sulphuretted hy-
 drogen is  not a test to be solely depended on, but they
 are also very far from  impairing  its general value.—-
 We  shall hereafter  indicate  means by which  all
 doubts as  to the presence  of antimony can be obviated,
 while the application of tests presently to be mentioned

   * Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 5, p. 167. Orfila observes, that
 the nyToSphurets do not in any manner disturb the solution of^arsenious
 acid at least until a few drops of  nitric or muriatic ac d be added to the
 mixture   In  this case,  the same golden-yellow precipitate >s obtained as
 from sulphuretted hyd.ogen.  We'must L careful not to confound them
  and the liver of sulphur, which is a hydrogenated sulphuret of noash  and
  Jives in small quantity a white, and in large, a yellow prec.m a e, but t
  never acquires th« beautiftl gold-yellow colour la question.  Orfila, vol. i,
  p. 104, 105.
    VOX. Hi                  fi7> 
210
MINERAL  POISONS.
to other portions of the suspected substance, will suf-
fice to corroborate the deduction drawn from its effects.
Chemists certainly ought never to neglect employing
it, since  it will detect arsenic under circumstances,
when the other tests are  nugatory or deceitful.*
  An aqueous solution of sulphuretted hydrogen gas,
is in many respects the preferable form of  applying
this test, and it should be preferred to a solution of an
hydro-sulphuret, or  to passing the gas itself through
the suspected substance.f
  (e) The nitrate of silver  was  proposed by Mr.
Joseph Hume in 1801), as a test, and his directions for
applying it  are as follows :  " Into a clear  Florence
oil flask, introduce two or three grains of any powder
suspected  to be  arsenic ;  add uot  less  than  eight
ounce measures of either rain or distilled water, and
heat this gradually over a lamp, or a clear  coal fire,
till the solution begins to boil.  Then, while it boils,
frequently shake the  flask,  which  may  be readily
done by  wrapping a piece of leather round its neck or
putting a glove upon the hand.   To the hot solution,
add  a grain or two of sub-carbonate  of potasli or so-
da, agiiating the whole to make the mixture uniform.
In the next place, pour into an ounce phial or a small
Wine-glass about two table  spoorfuls of  this solution,
and  present  to the mere surface of the fluid,  a stick of
dry  nitrate of silvei or lunar caustic.   If there be any
arsenic present, a beautiful yeliu« precipitate will in-
stantly appear, which  will proceed  from the point of
contact ofthe nitrate with the fluid, and settle towards
the bottom of the vessel  as a liocculeut and copious
precipitate."%
  This  is evidently a convenient and striking test,
but it is  to be regretted that its utility is impaired by

  ■* See the subsequent table of its effects on mixtures of arsenic with va-
rious articles of food or drink.
  t Wend and, a chemist at Berlin, has recommended the hydro-bulphuret
of ammonia as superior to the other alkaline hydro-sulphurets. On adding
a few drops of nitric acid to its mixture v^ili arsenic, the yellow precipitate
falls down.  Marc, p. 90. See, however, Orfila, vol. l,p. 104.
  X Henry's Chemistry, vol. 2, p. 272. 
MINERAL POISONS.
2ii
many serious  objections.*  It  has been  attempted
from time to time to  obviate these, and to render the
proof infallible, but not with perfect success.   As the
progress of improvement  with respect to it is curious,
and  particularly as it behoves  every  medical jurist
thoroughly to  understand this subject, I shall state
the various modifications in their order.
   1.  It  is evident that cases of poisoning occur more
frequently from arsenious acid simply,  than from ar-
senite of  potash, (Fowler's solution,)  and hence the
test should be applicable to a solution  of the former
substance.  Now according to Dr. Marcet, arsenious
acid  alone will  not decompose the nitrate of  silver,
while it is well known that the pure  fixed  alkalies
produce that eft'ect.f   To avoid the confusion which
might arise from the latter circumstance,  Dr. Marcet
suggested the superior advantages that would  attend
the use  of ammonia.   This alkali, when added singly,
does not decompose the nitrate of silver.
   The  following mode of applying  the test,  thus
modified,  has  been published by  Dr. ltoget,  as the
direction of  Dr. Marcet:  " Let the  fluid suspected
to contain arsenic,  be filtered—let the end of a glass
rod,  wetted with  a solution  of  pure  ammonia, be
brought into  contact with this fluid,  and let a clean
rod,  similarly  wetted with a solution of nitrate of sil-
ver,  be  brought into contact with the mixture.   If the
minutest quantity of arsenic he present, a precipitate,
of a  bright yellow colour, will appear at the point of

  * The 60th part of a grain maybe recognized in two ounces of water, by
weans of this lest.
  The arsenite of silver, which is the substance thus produced, is of an cpi-
ment-yellow colour when  first formed, but if allowed to stand for some
time in an open vessel, it gradually becomes brown, and it has this colour
when dry.  It is insoluble in water. Before the blow-pipe, the silver is re-
duced, and the arsenic is totally dissipated. Marcet.  Annals, vol. 3, p 236.
  t I mention this on the authority of Marcet and Pari?, (see Pharmacol.
p. 21-2,) although Orfila states expressly, that the " nitrate of silver is imme-
diately precipitated by the solution of arsenious  acid,  and the precipitate,
which is of a yellow colour, grows black on exposure  to light." (Orfila, vol.
l,p. 105)  See also the resulls obtained by the editors ofthe London Med.
Repository, where this test detected arsenious acid, although it* quantity
dissolved  in twelve drachms of water, did not  amount to one sixly-f' "irth
ol a grain. Vol. 6, p. 343. 
212
MINERAL POISONS.
 contact, and will readily subside to the bottom of
 the  vessel."*  This  was so efficient  as to show the
 presence of  arsenic  when the fluid examined  con-
 tained only  the two hundred and fifty  thousandth
 part of a grain.f
   2. A student at Guy's Hospital,  suggested  to Dr.
 Marcet, that when nitrate of silver is added to a solu-
 tion containing an alkaline phosphate,  a yellow pre-
 cipitate is thrown down, similar in appearance  to ar-
 senite of silver ; hence an ambiguity  might readily
 occur  in suspected cases, as  an  alkaline phosphate
 might be present in the fluids  of the stomach.   This
 fact induced  Dr. Marcet to examine the subject anew.
 He  found the  shades of colour in the two salts,  not
 quite alike, yet sufficiently resembling each other, to
 render the  test a dubious one in judicial cases.$   Mr.
 Richard Phillips made several experiments on it, and
 repeatedly obtained, without  any regard as to pro-
 portions in either case, precipitates of arsenite and
 phosphate of silver, resembling each other so perfect-
 ly, that it w as  impracticable to distinguish them.|j
   In  order to  obviate  the difficulty thus  discovered,
 and still to render the  test available, Dr. Paris pro-
 poses the following method : " Instead of conducting
 the  experiment in glasses, drop the suspected liquor
 ou a piece of white paper, making a broad line with
 it.   Along this line,  a stick of luuar caustic  is  to be
 slowly drawn,  when a  streak is produced of a colour
resembling that known  by the name of Indian Yellow;
and this is alike obtained  by the presence of arsenic

  '* Medico-Chirurgical Transactions, vol.  2, p. 157, 160. The utility of
applying the test in this way, is evident from the fact, that an .excess of
ammonia re-dissolves the precipitate.
  t " When the solution contained only the 25,000th part of a grain of ar-
senic, the precipitate was of a bright yellow. It was still distinctly yellow,
when the quantity of arsenic was reduced  by dilution to one 50,000th of a
grain.  When further diluted, the yellowness grew less and less discernible,
and the precipitate appeared of a light blue.  It retained this colour until it*
quantity became too minute for observation. A bluish cloud w.:s, however,
distinctly visible,  when the fluid examined contained only the 250,000th
part of a grain of arsenic." Roget, in Medico-Chirurg. Transactions, vol
2, p. 160.
  i Medico-Chirurg. Transactions, vol. 6, p. 663.
  || Annals, vol. 8,  p.  152.  Ditto, New Series, vol. 1, p. 142. 
MINERAL POISONS.
213
and of phosphoric salts—but  the one from arsenic is
rough, curdy and flocculent, as if effected by a crayon ;
that from a phosphate, homogeneous and uniform, re-
•emhling  a water colour laid smoothly on  with a
brush.  A more important and distinctive peculiari-
ty soon succeeds—for in less  than two  minutes,  the
phosphoric yellow fades into a sad green, and becomes
gradually darker,  and ultimately quite black,  while
on the other hand, the arsenical yellow remains per-
manent, or nearly so, for some time, when  it becomes
brown.  In performing this experiment, the sunshine
should be avoided,  or the transition of the colour will
take place too rapidly."*   Mr. Thomson observes,
that this result will be rendered more satisfactory, by
brushing the streak lightly over with liquid ammonia
immediately after the application of the caustic, when
if arsenic be  present, a  bright queen's  yellow is
produced, which  remains permanent,  for nearly an
hour; but that when the lunar caustic produces a
white-yellow before  the arsenic is applied,  we may
infer the presence of some alkaline phosphate, rather
than  that of arsenic.f
   Mr. Hume has, however, formed  a triple compound,
the  ammoniaco-nitrate of silver, which obviates two
difficulties, and it is therefore a valuable addition to
our  means of analysis.   It  avoids the danger of aa
excess of ammonia, which might re-dissolve the yel-
low precipitate, and  it does not effect in the least the
phosphate of soda.   The following is the formula for
its preparation : " Dissolve ten grains of lunar caus-
tic in ten times its weight of distilled water ;  to this
add, guttatim, liquid ammonia, until a precipitate is
formed ; continue cautiously to add the ammonia, re-
peatedly agitating the mixture, until the precipitate is
nearly re-dissolved."  The object of allowing a small
portion to remain undissolved, is to guard against an
excess of  ammonia.   Whenever the test is used, the
liquid to which it is added ought to be quite cold.J

  * Annals, vol. 10, p. 60.
  t Paris' Pharmacologia, p. 213.  London Med. Repository, vol. 8, p. 178.
  % Paris' Pharmacologia, p. 214.  Marshall, p. W. 
214             MINERAL POISONS.
   3.  Dr. Paris mentions another objection to the use
of  the  nitrate of silver, which is,  that it  produces
such  copious and flocculent precipitates with the mu-
riates, as to overcome every indication which the pre-
sence of arsenic would otherwise afford.*   Dr. Mar-
cet proposes to obviate this difficulty by adding dilu-
ted nitric acid to the fluid, and then cautiously apply
the nitrate of  silver until  the  precipitate ceases.   In
this wav,  the  muriate of  silver, which is insoluhle,
immediately resumes  its peculiar density and white-
ness,  while the arsenic, if it be present, will remain
in solution, and may be rendered evident by the effu-
sion of ammonia,  which  will  instantly produce the
yellow  precipitate  in its characteristic form.f  Dr.
Paris, however, objects to this, that the yellow preci-
pitate thus produced, is not always permanent, sincft
it  is soluble in the nitrate of ammonia formed during
the process, and he recommends that we should give
the nitrate of silver its full power of precipitation, and
then  submit the mixed precipitate to a  low heat in a
glass  tube, when the arsenious acid will be immedi-
ately  separated  by  sublimation.   He recommends
this process also in cases  where animal and vegeta-
ble substances,  as milk,  broth, or wine,  are  mixed
with the suspected fluid.$   Of this, however, I shall
speak hereafter.
   4.  The  last objection to the correctness of this test
has been already noticed,  as occurring on a trial for
poisoning.   A decoction  of onions,  however, when
treated with the ammoniaco-nitrate of silver, presents
no precipitate, and the colour, which at first is a red-
dish yellow, gradually changes to a deep  red.||  But
the same objections which I mentioned  when noticing
the ammoniaco-sulphate of copper, are also  urged
against the infallibility of this result.^

 * Mr. Sylvester was, I believe, the author of this objection. See his paper
on the detection of metallic poisons, copied from Nicholson in the Eclectic
Repertory, vol. 4, p. 450.
 t Marcet in Medico-Chirurg. Transactions, vol. 3, p. 346.
 X Paris' Pnarmacologia, p. 214.
 \\ Marshall, p 150.
 § It is to be regretted, that the reviewer in the Edinburgh Med. and Surg. 
MINERAL POISONS.               215
   I am apprehensive  that all these  objections go far
to weaken the value  of the test under uotice.   But I
would, notwithstanding, always have it applied  in the
form of aniraoniaeo-nitrate of silver, aud principally
for this reason, that  it will furnish us with a copious
precipitate, ready for  any  further experiments that
we  may require to perform.*
   These are  the tests that have attracted  most  atten-
tion.   Others,  however,  have been lately proposed,
which it is proper briefly to mention.
   (fj  Iodine is  recommended by Brugnatelli,  to  be
applied in the following manner :  " Take a little re-
cent wheat-starch, add to  it a sufficient quantity of io-
dine to give it a blue colour ; mix a little of this blue
matter with water,  so  as  to have a  blue coloured li-
quid.   If into this liquid a few drops of an aqueous
solution of  arsenious acid be put,  the blue colour is
immediately changed  to a reddish-brown, and is gra-
dually dissipated entirely.  If a few drops of sulphu-
ric acid be now added,  the blue colour  is again res-
tored."!   This  is said to have failed in the hands of
succeeding experimenters.J
   (g) It  has lately been suggested by  Mr. Smith-
son,  that  the fusion of arsenic, or any of  its  com-
pounds,  with nitrate of potash,  will give us a result,
(arseniate of potash)  that is well calculated to  detect
the most minute portions of poison.   On the addition

Journal has not favoured us with the experiments on which he founded
these statements.  1 venture,  however,  from the  ability displayed in this
work on subjects relating to medical jurisprudence, to place implicit re-
liance on its assertions.  It is another question, whether in judicial investi-
gations, we should attach much importance to the fact under consideration.
The judge, on the. trial of Donnal, very justly remarked, " tha! the ovion li-
quor was always thrown away, and the vegetable ilself only used."   A:a\  the
emetic and cathartic effects of a poison would certainly remove all marks
of their presence, even if they had been eaten.
  * Professor Dana, of Dartmouth college, has recommended a  m«'de of
applying this test, which deserves mer.tion. Pour a few drops of iiiiric arid
over the suspected substance ; evaporate to dryness by a genth  heat—re-
peat this, and the ar-enic will be converted into arsenic acid.  If the sub-
stance has previously given a yellow precipitate wit Lj Marcels lest, and now
on dissolving the arsenic acid  gives a  brick-red with it, we have certainly
a strong testimony as it respects the nature of the  mineral. ISew-England
Journal, vol. 6, p. 135.
  t Annals, vol. 10, p 151.
  X London Med. Repository, vol. 8. p. 160. 
216
MINERAL rOISONS.
of nitrate of silver, the brick-red precipitate is formed
in a very large proportionable quantity.*
   (h) The chromate of potash.  This substance has
been highly recommended by Dr.  Thomas Cooper,
as a test of arsenic.   His direction is, to add  a few
drops of it to the filtered solution, or to a  grain  of
white arsenic in substance, and  in about half an hour
a  bright grass-green colour will be produced.   The
rationale of this experiment is, that the arsenious acid
attracts oxygen from the chromic acid, which  is thus
converted  into a green oxyd and precipitates,  while
the alkali unites with  the  arsenic  acid.  By thi«
means,  Dr. Cooper says that  a twentieth part of a
grain,  whether iu powder or solution, can be detect-
ed.!
   It is remarkable that while Dr.  Cooper was offer-
ing this as a test, Dr. Porter, a graduate of Yale Col-
lege,  without a  knowledge of his publication, should
have obtained results with  it,  that apparently invali-
date several of those already stated.
   When the chromate was substituted for arsenic in
the production of Scheele's green, a precipitate was
thrown  down which was not to be distinguished by
the eye from  the latter substance.
   When Mareet's  test was applied  to a solution of
chromate of potash, a yellow precipitate was produ-
ced, which,  '• when  placed  side  by side with one
produced by  arsenic,  could not be distinguished by
their colour and appearance."|
   Dr.  Cooper has objected to the correctness of most
of these results, and  among other things  remarks,
that with Mucet's test, a brown tinge of chromate of
silver will  be produced.
   I am,  how7ever, far  from considering the results of
Dr. Porter as of great importance, and adopt on this
point the words of Dr. Cooper : " As to the prepara-

  * Annals,  New Series, vol. 4, p. 127.
  t Cooper's Tracts, p. 444. Silliman's Journal, vol. 4, p. 159.
  X Silliman, vol. 3, p. 354. Prof. Sillimaa seems to sanction the correct*
ness of these experiments. 
MINERAL POISONS.
21*
tions of chrome, they are so very unlikely to occasion
mischief either by accident or design,  that they may
be considered quite out of the question" in our inves-
tigations on suspected substances.*
  Further experiments  are, notwithstanding, requi-
site to  determine the value of  this salt as a test of ar-
senic ; and 1  would suggest, whether there may no*, be
other acids,  which,  like the arsenious,  possess  the
power of deoxidating the chromic acid.
  The  following directions require attention  in  all
our experiments with tests.  1. In every experiment
with an unknown  substance,  a corresponding  one
should be made on  ingredients of  a known composi-
tion.   If, for example,  the operator is  about  usi- g
the copper or the silver test, he should first apply  it to
a solution prepared by  himself, and known to con-
tain  arsenic.   He w ill thus become familiar with the
expected results.  2. Never  comment e the experi-   »
meuts  until the tests, and all the necessary apparatus,
are in readiness, and in  a perfect state.f  3.  If the ex-
periments are performed in glasses, examine them by
day-light, and view them by  reflected,  and not  by
transmitted   light.   A piece of paper should also he
placed behind the  glasses.  4. It will  be  proper to
repeat  the experiments on white paper,  as suggested
by Dr. Paris ; or  what is better,  " take  a pane of
glass,  put a  few drops of the clear liquid in the mid-
dle,  and draw lines out  from it in different directions.
To one of these, a particle of weak ammoniacal water
being applied, the weak nitrate of silver  may then be
brushed over it with a  hair pencil.  By placing the
glass in different lights, either over white paper, or
obliquely before the eye,  the slightest change of  tint
will  be perceived."  The sulphuretted hydrogen may
be applied to another filament of  the drop, and so on
with all the tests.   This  is  the  mode  practised by
Dr. Wollaston, in general chemical research, and it

  * Silliman, vol. 4, p. 159.
  t Bostock, Edin. Med. and Surg. Jour. vol. 4, p. 174.
VOL.  II.
28 
218              MINERAL POISONS.
is admirably adapted for detecting small quantities of
a substance.*
   Of the second class, or the reduction of the white
oxide to a metallic state, the following  must be men-
tioned.
  (a) Its reduction with the black flux.  Take any
of the precipitates produced by either of the foregoing
tests, and evaporate  it to dryness with a gentle heat,
or take the suspected powder, if it has been found in
a solid state, and " mix a portion with three times its
weight of black flux, (consisting of finely powdered
charcoal one part,  and dry carbonate of potash two
parts,)  put the mixture  into a thin glass tube,  her-
metically closed  at  one end, about  eight  inches  in
length, and one fourth of an inch in diameter. Should
any of the powder adhere to the sides of the tube, it
must be carefully brushed off with a feather, so that
the inner surface of its upper part may be  perfectly
clean aud dry.  The closed end of the tube, by way
of  security,  may be thinly coated with a mixture of
pipe-clay and sand, but this operation  is not absolute-
ly necessary, and the open extremity is to be loosely
plugged with a piece of paper."!   The coated end is
now to be  heated on a chaffing dish of red hot coals,
or it may be heated red hot in the flame  of a spirit-
lamp, or we  may urge it with the blow-pipe until it
comes to that state.   In either case, if arsenic be pre-
sent, it  will  sublime,  and form a brilliant metallic
crust, resembling steel, tind lining the  upper part of
the tube.
   This mode of  proving the presence of  arsenic, is
undoubtedly most decisive and satisfactory, and it is
therefore of  great importance that no  imperfection
should  attend it.
   In the first place, it should never be  attempted on
a suspected substance,  unless the operator has pre-

  *  Ure, art. Arsenious Acid
  t  Paris' Pharmacolog. p. 210.  Dr. Bostock, however, seems to be of opi-
nion, that the coating of pipe-clay and sand should not be omitted. Edin.
Med. and Surg. Jour. vol. 5,p. 171. 
MINERAL POISONS.
219
viously performed repeatedly on what he knows to be
arsenic.  He should be familiar with the appearance
of this metal in very minute quantities.   Dr. Paris
observes, that to his knowledge, it has happened to a
medical  person,  by no means  deficient in chemical
address, to ascribe to the  presence  of arsenic  that
which was no other than a film  of very finely  divided
charcoal.*  This advice, then, which applies to
all  the chemical proofs, is emphatically impor-
tant in the present instance.
  2.  I  should  next   recommend,  when the  sus-
pected substance is small, that  this experiment  be
not  attempted,  until  the  operator  has  applied all
the  tests  he intends to use.   Let the precipitates
then be investigated in this way.  The reasons why
we should prefer this are,  that the tube  may break
during its heating, and we   may  Ipse  a  part  or
the whole of the arsenic ; while,  on the other hand,
the  bulk of the  precipitates will increase the facil-
ity  of examination.   But  above all, I  should en-
force this direction  from the simple fact, that the re-
duction ofthe metal in this way,  is  not alone a suffi-
cient  proof.   I  put this observation in  strong lan-
guage, that  I  may be distinctly understood ; and I
ask those chemists, who of late years have agitated
the community with their denunciations against tests,
whether they  intend that the steel lustred coating of
metallic arsenic, developed by the  above process, is
of  itself sufficient  to  prove a criminal guilty ? The
language used in their writings, would certainly war-
rant such a  deduction.  But the truth, I apprehend,
is.  (and it has not  been explained with sufficient ex-
plicitness,) that the reduction of the metal is the con-
firmatory, the decisive proof;  because the  previous
'experiments with tests, have indicated the presence of
 poison, and they should therefore precede its use.
   3. Dr.  Bostock  remarks, that powdered  charcoal
 added to the arsenic,  will  answer every purpose re-
 quired in  this process.  This, however,  is probably

  * Paris' Piiarmacologia, p. 217. 
220
MINERAL  POISONS.
incorrect.   The presence of potash in the flux would
seem to be very essential, since it immediately forms
an arsenite of potash, and thereby fixes the arsenious
acid, and prevents it from being volatilized before the
the  temperature  is  sufficiently  high to  enable  the
charcoal to decompose it.*
   4.  As to the minuteness of this proof, Dr.  Bostock
observes, that when  less than three-fourths of a grain
was employed,  the  metallic coating was  not clearly
perceptible, and from a remark of Dr. Black, he con-
cludes that that chemist considered  one  grain as  the
smallest quantity which he thought capable of detec-
tion  by this process.!   Later experimenters, however,
assert that they  have obtained  satisfactory  results
with  smaller  quantities.  Hose  states  that  he  was
able to detect in this way the one-eight of a  gr in,
mixed with animal matters.^  And  Dr. Gorham, of
Harvard University, obtained a distinct  metallic  film
from  one-eighth of a  grain. ||
   (b) The garlic smell.—Take a portion ofthe sus-
pected substance, and place it on red-hot charcoal, or
apiece of red-hot iron. It will evaporate with a white
smoke, and a peculiar smell resembling garlic.
   This is an uncertain  and equivocal  test.   Phos-
phorus,  zinc  and antimony, under  the same circum-
stances,  burn with a similar odour,§ and  even if it
be arsenic,  yet mixed with either a  vegetable or ani-
mal   substance, the  smoke and smell  arising from
these bodies when heated, will altogether prevent us
from detecting the peculiar properties of the arsenic.
Dr.  Bostock  mixed  equal parts  of arsenic and flour,
and  placed them on  iron at  a low red heat,  but  the
suffocating smoke  arising from the flour could  alone
be perceived.*||

  * Paris'Pharmacolog. p. 211.
  t Edin. Med. and Surg. Jour. vol. 5, p. 170.       X Ibid. vol. 7, p. 85.
  || See a valuable and instructive analysis, by Prof. Gorham, of some pois-
oned sugar, in the  i\ew-England Journal, vol. 6, p. 228.
  § Edin. Med and Surg. Journal, vol. 7, p. 85. Murray's Chemistry, vol.
3,p. 358. Ballard  denies that phosphorus emits a similar odour, and ob-
serves, that zinc may always be detected by its flocculent oxyd.  P 395.
  IT Edin. Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 5, p. 173. Jaeger, however, says 
MINERAL POISONS.             221
  There is  also  some discrepancy among chemists,
as to the condition which is necessary to produce this
garlic smell.  Dr. Henry remarks,  that " this odour
is not produced by the white oxide of arsenic when
heated, without the addition of some inflammable in-
gredient."   And  he adds, " the absence of arsenic
must not therefore he inferred, if  no smell should be
occasioned  by laying the white powder  on  a heated
iron."*   Murray says, " if, before being evaporated,
the oxide is made into a paste with oil, it will, when
evaporating, present  the  peculiar  smell  resembling
that of garlic"! Orfila, however, and  others, assert
that the same will happen  if it be thrown upon  a
plate of copper or iron previously heated to  redness,
and makes no mention of an inflammable ingredient.^
  The reason of this  diversity, as  well as its proper
explanation,  appear  to  have been but lately under-
stood.  We have the testimony of two experimenters,
that arsenious acid possesses no alliaceous smell, and
that it is peculiar to the arsenic volatilized in its me-
tallic  state.  If, therefore, the arsenious  acid yields
this odour, we may infer that  its decomposition has
taken place, and this is  of course facilitated by its
projection on  red-hot charcoal,  or by heating  it in
contact with bodies which readily unite with its  oxy-
gen.   Dr. Paris found that  the garlic smellonly oc-
curred  in  cases of its  projection on copper in a  state
of ignition, but if heated ou a plate of copper  by  a
spirit-lamp  or blow-pipe, no odour was  perceptible,
and the arsenious acid was dissipated before the cop-
per could acquire a degree of temperature sufficient to
deoxidize it.||
   By properly understanding this phenomena,  pre-
cautions may  he taken to prevent its  failure.   The

he was sensible of the garlic  smell ofthe tenth of a grain mixed with su-
gar !     * Heury, vol.2, p. 273.
  t Murray, vol. 3, p. 357.
  X Orfila, vol 1, p. 103.
  || Paris, in Brande's Journal, vol 6, p. 342  R Phillips, in Annals, New
Series, vol. 2, p. 227.  When Dr. Paris employed metals that are oxidiza-
ble with difficulty, as gold, silver, orplatiua, no alliaceous smell could be
produced at any temperature. 
222
MINERAL  POISONS.
correct course undoubtedly would  be,  to  take a por-
tion ofthe reduced metal obtained by process a. and
project it on red-hot iron.   We will thus be furnish-
ed with the accessary testimony that is required, if it
be arsenic*
  (c)   The  tombac  alloy.—"Mix  the suspected
substance with black flux,  as in experiment a, and
place the mixture between polished plates of copper—
bind them  tight together by  iron  wire,  and expose
them to  a low red heat.   If the  included substance
contained arsenic, a silvery white stain will be left on
the surface ofthe copper, which is an alloy of the two
metals."\
  Dr. Bostock,  in his remarks on this test, gives a
preference to charcoal instead of the black flux, but
if there  be any correctness  in the remarks  already
made, as to the necessity of potash to fix the arsenious
acid, this is evidently incorrect.
  The following experiment made by him, affects the
excellence of the proof under notice.  " Two copper
disks, of nearly au inch and a half in diameter, scour-
ed bright with  sand, had one grain of powdered char-
coal, made into a paste  with oil, placed  between
them; they were bound  together with an iron wire,
and then kept  red-hot for ten  minutes.  When  they
were withdrawn from the fire, the metal was found to
have lost its former appearance, and to have acquired
the dull  white colour of lead or zinc.   The inside of
the disks were found to present the same whitish ap-
pearance,  except on the spot where the charcoal was
placed,  a  small part of which still remained uncon-
sumed.  As the disks cooled,  the whitish matter
which covered them began  to separate,  and fly off
with some force, in the form of small scales, leaving a
clear surface of the proper copper colour.   In a few
minutes, the greatest part of the scales removed, ex-

  * A remark of Ballard also deserves attention at this time.  Many bod-
ies, he observes, may give out either an alliaceous odour, or a dense white
smoke, when  placed on burning charcoal, but arsenic alone produces both.
Ballard, p. 395.
  f Copper, whitened in this manner, tarnishes very soon.  Bostock. 
MINERAL POISONS.
223
cept on the inside near where the charcoal had  been
placed, and here the disks  still retained  their  grey
colour.   The  charcoal was  rubbed off, and the sur-
face below it was found smooth and polished ; it had
acquired a light colour, resembling that of brass, and
near  the  centre there was  a small spot  which ap-
proached to a  steel-grey.  This appearance still con-
tinued after it had been rubbed with fine sand."
  The above description, he observes, of the changes
which the disks experience, by being heated with a
part of their surface in contact with an inflammable
body, impressed him with  the idea, that if he had
performed this experiment  upon a substance which
was suspected to contain arsenic, and had not been
aware of the appearances that he had to meet with,
he  would have conceived,  that he had  detected its
presence.  " Upon repeating the process, in precise-
ly a similar manner,  except that one grain of arsenic
was added to  the charcoal,  the oxidation of the cop-
per took place as before, and a small part of the char-
coal remained unconsumed  ; but upon rubbing it, the
white stain was perfectly visible.   However,  when
these disks were compared with  those in which the
former experiment had been made, the difference be-
tween them seemed more in degree than in kind ; so
that I should  not choose to  decide upon  the presence
 of arsenic as  indicated by this test,  unless the result
was  more obvious  than it must be  expected  to be,
 when it exists only in small quantity."*
   Dr. M'Neven put oxide of tin between two  plates
 of  bright copper,  and surrounded it with a circle of
 powdered charcoal:  the plates were then brought to
 a red heat, and the  consequence w as a  whitish stain
 towards  the  edges  of the  copper.   So also  when
 calomel  was  used ; but the whitening was irregular
 and  not so distinct.!
    These experiments evidently regulate  the value of
 this  mode of  proof.  It can only be used as  an ac~
* Edin. Med. and. Surg. Jour. vol. 5, p. 172.
t Journals ofthe Assembly ofthe state of New-York, for 1818. 
224              MINERAL POISONS'.
 cessary,  and in that case, is valuable.   But the ope-
 rator  should perform it at the same time with a sub-
 stance that  he knows  to be  arsenic, and be  well
 aw are of all the peculiarities that attend this particu-
 lar alloy.
   (dj The  reduction  ofthe metal by the galvanic
pile.   This  w as suggested by Jaeger, in consequence
 of  the discoveries of Sir Humphrey  Davy.*  And
 Orfila has given directions for performing the experi-
 ment in his work.   The simplest and best mode  pro-
 bably will be, to  " let the two  wires act on a  little of
 the arsenical solution  placed  on a piece of window
 glass."   The negative pole will, if arsenic  be pres-
 ent, be coated at  the  end  of twelve,  fifteen, or
 four and  twenty hours,  with a white metallic crust;
and if the pole in question be  of copper,  it  will he
 whitened like tombac    Sometimes even  a longer
time is required to produce this effect.   A pile of fifty
pair of plates, of an inch diameter,  revives a solution
containing only —$ or —^ of solid arsenious acid,  but
when  the quantity of arsenic is extremely small, it is
impossible to perceive  the revived metal.   In that
case,   by heating the negative wires after the  opera-
tion, the smell of garlic is perceived.!
  After this  enumeration of the various modes of de-
tecting the presence of arsenic,  it becomes an  impor-
tant question, whether any extraneous difficulties may
occur in performing them.  The patient is supposed
to be dead ;  his body has  been opened,  and the  ap-
pearances found on dissection have been duly noticed.
The fluid or solid  substances, or all contained in the
stomach, have been collected.
  With respect to the solid substances, our course is
evidently  plain, according to the directions already
given.   They should be  washed in distilled  water,
then boiled in a proper proportion of it, according to
the  directions mentioned  when speaking of the solu-
bility of arsenic—portions of this fluid must then be

  * Edin. Med. and Surg. Jour. vol. 7  p. 85.
  t Orfila, vol. 1, p. 108.  Ure's Dictionary, art. Arsenious Acid. 
MINERAL POISONS.
225
tested by the ammoniaco-sulphate of copper,  the ara-
moniaco nitrate of silver and sulphuretted hydrogen—
the precipitates are next to be evaporated to dryness,
then  reduced with the black flux ; a portion of this
metal is thrown on red-hot iron,  and another portion
placed between two copper plates and heated.
  But as to fluids,  we shall experience greater diffi-
culty.  They are often mixed with animal or vegeta-
ble substances in the  stomach ;  the  matter  vomited,
which may be  all that we can operate on, may be iu
the same combination, and the  question then arises,
will not these foreign substances alter the results e?£-
pected  from tests, and  if so, how are we to obviate\
this?
  To the first, we have  to answer,  that undoubtedly
a great variety has been  observed from the mixture of
animal or vegetable substances.   The example of a
decoction of  onions,  already noticed,  is a  striking
proof of this.   Again, muriate of soda is usually pre-
sent in the fluids of the stomach,  and this has been
found materially to obstruct the operation of one of
the tests, viz. the nitrate of  silver.   In such a case,
the experiment with it and  the  ammonia should  be
repeated several times.   At first, if the muriate  be
present, a white  curdy precipitate will only  be  form-
ed, but at the second or third immersion of the nitrate
rod, a central spot of  yellow will be perceived, sur-
rounded by the white  muriate of silver.   At  the next
immersion, this yellow cloud on the  surface   will be-
come very conspicuous.*  Orfila  has  diligently in-
vestigated  this point, and  ascertained  the   effect of
various  substances on arsenic,  and  the  appearances
developed by  the application of tests to these com-
pounds.  I have thrown this in a tabular form, and
it will be seen that all are more  or less  affected, ex-
cept sulphuretted hydrogen.!

   Ure, art. Vrseninus Acid.
  t Dr. Ure, in his Chemical Dictionary, mentions that Mr. Thomson, in hi;.
London Dispensatory, has given a tabular extract of these results.  I have
not been able to procure !'u- work, but the pirsent table is probably pre-
cisely similar.
    VOL. II.               29 
Effects of Tests on various mixtures of Arsenic with Animal and Vegetable Substances.
Substances employed.	Strong decoction of tea and ar-senious acid, equal parts.	Decoction of cof-fee and arseni-ous acid, equal parts.	Wine ten parts, arsenious acid one part.	Wine ten parts, arsenious acid seven parts.	-a ^ 5'3 cd d c 3 M <	a c u cd cd 4) 3 a o '■g'H "a, "> O	i cd ■ TS'o = cd es m SO . p'S M	3 .2 'S <u cd -a S:s	Milk 10 parts, arsenious acid one part.	Milk ten parts, arsenious acid 2 or 3 parts.	1 Fluid in the stom-| ach of a rabbit . 1 poisoned with three grains.
Effect of the substances on each other.	No /effect. •	No effect.	Preserv-ed trans-parency.		No effect	No effect	No change.	No change.			
Tests. Nitrate of silver	Yellowish white precipit. immediately black.	Deep yellow precipitate.	White.	White, slowly.	White.	White.	White.	Same as arsenious ac. alone	No visible change.	White.	White.
Lime-water.	Yellow precip. rather dirty.	Yellow precip.			Same as arsenious ac. alone.	Same as arsenious ac. alone	Same a< arsenious ac. alone.	Same as arsenious ac. alone			Greyish white.
Sulphate of am-moniacal cop-per.	No disturbance, change to a reddish violet.	Nearly green precipitate.	Dark blue.	Green.	Same as arsenious acid alone.	Same as arsenious acid alone.	Colour dirty green, no prec.	Same as arsenious acid alone.	Tinge slightly green.	Green.	Green.
Sulphuretted hydrogen.	Yellow precip.	jolden yellow	Deep yellow.	Golden yellow.	Same as Same as arsenious arsenious ac.alone lac.alone.		Same as arsenious a o. alone.	Same as arsenious ac.alone-	Pale yellow.	Golden yellow.	Deep yellow.
											
 
                    MINERAL  POISONS.               227


    If then the fluid be much disguised with animal or

 vegetable substances, it is better, first of all, to evapo-

 rate  to dryness,  and by a  few drops of nitric acid to

 dissipate the  organic product.   The remainder can

 now  be dissolved in distilled water,  and will present

 a clear liquid.*   A portion also, after it is thus evap-

 orated, may be exposed to heat iu a glass tube.   The

 whole range of experiments may thus be applied—or,

 as has lately  been  suggested  by Orfila,  a sufficient

 quantity  of liquid  chlorine may be added to the sus-

 pected fluid.   This will remove the  colouring matter

 of various substances, such as wine, coffee, &c.  and a

 reddish yellow matter will form and gradually be  de-

 posited ; the whole supernatant fluid, on being filter-

 ed, will present the same results on the application of

 the various  tests, as the aqueous solution does.!

    I should not be doing justice to the  student in medi-
 cal jurisprudence, were I to dismiss the subject at this

 place.  There remains a question  of magnitude  to

 be discussed, which is, the degree of proof necessary

 to determine the fact that poison has been administer-


  * Ure ut antea. " Should the arsenic be combined with oil, the mixture
 ought to be boiled with  water, and the oil then separated by the capillary
 action of wick threads.  If with resinous substances, these may be removed
 by oil of turpentine.  Both tea and coffee should be  freed from their tannin
 by gelatine,  which  does not act on the arsenic, previous to the use of re-
 agents for the poison." Ibid.
  t Quarterly Journal. For. Med.  and Surg. vol. 3,  p. 246.   London Med.
 Repository,  vol. 11, p. 336. In a previous volume  of the latter work, is
 contained a  memoir by  Orfila, in which he announces a new mode of de-
 tecting arsenic when combined with animal substances.  The author of it
 is Mr. Rapp.  It appears, that in his experiments, he was not able to cause
 the destruction of the animal matters by the nitric acid.  He therefore sug-
 gests the following:—A given quantity of pure nitrate of potash is to be in-
 troduced into a glass vessel with a large neck, and  the vessel placed in a
 sand-bath ; this matter is to be heated to a beginning redness,  and small
 pieces of the suspected  matter being evaporated to dryness by a gentle
 neat, are then to be mixed with it.   By these means, both the animal mat-
 ter and  the nitrate of potash become decomposed, and the arsenious acid
 is transformed into arsenic acid, which unites with the potash of the nitrate,
 and thus becomes arseniate of potash. As soon as the mass ceases to detonate,
 it is to he dissolved in water, and the excess of potash  is to be saturated with
 nitric acid.   The liquor thus obtained, is to be treated with the tests of the
arseniates. (London Med. Repository, vol. 9, p. 514;  vol. 10, p. 151.)  The
 safest mode after all, however, is to collect the precipitates first obtained
 with the ordinary tests, evaporate them to dryness,  and then reduce with
 (he black flux. 
228              MINERAL POISONS.

ed P The chemist will reply, that the reduction of the
metal is the only certain  and decisive  evidence.  I
answer, it is the highest  possible proof, but it can-
not always be obtained.   Are we then in all cases of
indictment, to acquit the prisoner, because  this has
not been accomplished ?  This would certainly seem
to be the bearing of some late observations, but I can-
not persuade myself of its  justice, nor of its conformi-
ty to the rules of criminal evidence.
   The  proofs of the  administration of poison are
threefold: the  symptoms—the  appearances on dis-
section, and the results obtained by chemical experi-
ments.  The  first are undoubtedly equivocal;  they
often accompany other diseases  in a greater or less
degree, and again they vary materially in individual
cases.  Hence  the inference  derived from them can
only be partial, and must be supported by  further
proof.  So also with morbid appearances.  We have
already shown in a previous  page,  what difficulties
envelope this point.  I do not desire to conceal either
of these,  but notwithstanding wish to contend, that
there may be cases, in which the medical  jurist,
 (net the chemist,) would  be justified in pronouncing
that poison had been the  cause of death.   The fol-
lowing will illustrate ray views.
   A family residing in the parish of Keig, in Scot-
 land, and consisting of two brothers and two sisters,
 were taken ill on the  morning  of the  19th  August,
 1821, shortly after eating breakfast.  They were all
1 previously in good health, and the dish of which they
 ate was porridge, consisting of milk, salt and meal.
 William Mitchell, one ofthe brothers, partook large-
 ly, but James,  who perceived a sickening taste, took
 less than common, while the sisters had their usual
 quantity.   They were all seized with vomiting, burn-
 ing heat in the stomach, weakness and fainting, which
 continued for  a considerable  length  of time,  and
 William finally sunk after seven days, in the manner
 already  described in a former  page.*  The others
# See page 184. Case by Mr. Murray. 
MINERAL POISONS.
229
gradually recovered, but great debility remained for
some months.   On dissection the stomach  and intes-
tines presented unequivocal marks of inflammation.*
  No part of the salt and  milk used that morning
was to be found, but the remainder of the meal,  and
also the contents of  William Mitchell's stomach and
duodenum, were examined by several physicians and
surgeons.  No poisonous ingredient, however, could
be detected.
  In this instance,  a family in good health was si-
multaneously attacked with symptoms that indicated
a common cause,  and there was no epidemic preva-
lent  that would  account for them.   So violent, too,
did the cause in question prove,  that  the. individual
who had partaken most largely, sunk under its effects.
Under these circumstances,  the brother-in-law of the
deceased was tried, and the medical witnesses did
not  hesitate  to give it  as their opinion, that poison
had  been  administered  to  his relatives.   He  after-
wards confessed his guilt,  and stated that he had
perpetrated the crime by means of arsenic put among
the  salt, on the morning when the  Mitchells  were
taken ill.*
  But it may be asserted, that the frequent vomitings,
and  the length of time which  elapsed  previous  to
death, prevented the detection of the poison.   How
then  did it happen, that  in  Dr. Roget's case, no
proof of arsenic could be found in the fluids vomited?
" When arsenic  has been taken in substance,"  says
Mr.  Brodie,  " small particles are frequently found
entangled in the  mucus,  or extravasated blood ;  but
where this is not the case, I have never known in an
animal capable of vomiting, that arsenic could be de-
tected in the  contents of  the stomach after  death,
though examined by the  most accurate chemical tests,
and  Mr. Brande could detect none in the urine."—
Orfila remarks, that " he has satisfied himself, that
all animals which  have  taken this poison dissolved

  * Cases of Poisoning, by Mr. Murray. Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Jour.
Hal, vol. 18, p. 167. 
230              MINERAL POISONS.
 in water, and had abundant vomitings before death,
 do  not exhibit the least trace  of arsenic,  when the
 contents  of the stomach are  submitted to  chemical
 analysis."*
   In such cases, then, we should examine the matter
 passed by vomiting or by stool, if they can be obtain-
 ed.   It  is even directed to take the stomach  itself,
 cut in pieces, and dissolve it in nitric acid.   The flu-
 id thus  obtained is to be filtered, and tested  by the
 means already proposed.!   But  if no evidence is ob-
 tained by either of the modes,  we  can only rely on
 the remaining facts that are  presented to us.   And it
 must be strongly impressed  on the mind of the medi-
 cal witness, that in an instance of this nature, his opi-
 nions should  be  founded on a strong combination of
 circumstances, a marked peculiarity of symptoms, and
 a striking disorganization of parts.
   I shall conclude this discussion with a narrative of
 some cases that  have come before  criminal courts.
 These form a commentary on the  general directions,
 and  illustrate the difficulties that medical witnesses
 have to encounter.
   The case of Miss Blandy.  This is peculiarly in-
 teresting,  as it gives us  the mode pursued to detect
 arsenic some seventy years since.
   Mary Blandy  was  tried in Feb. 1752,  at Oxford,
 for poisoning her  father with  arsenic.   It appears
 that she fell in love with a Capt. Cranstoun,  and that
 her father was averse  to her marriage with him.  The
 wretch then seems to  have formed the plan of de-

  •Orfila,vol. l,p. 140.
  +_,°-rtV?' J01- 1>P- 134>   Gor<*°n> P- 31. It is a most interesting question,
and richly deserving of examination, whether the poison can be absorbed,
so as to obtain traces in the manner now described.  I copy the following
from a late journal. « In order to ascertain whether or not the serous et-
fusion which commonly occurs  in the pleura of animals poisoned  by ar-
senic, arises from the absorption of this  mineral, M Laissaigne, of  Alfort,
submitted the mediastinum of  a horse destroyed by arsenic, to chemical
analysis, by which means he delected its presence." (New-York Medical
Repository, vol. 22, p. 111.) And while this work has been passing through
the press, I have met with a ca=e, where the method above directed was
found the only effectual one by which the poison could be detected in its me-
tallic state.  I have quoted it at length in a subsequent page 
MINERAL POISONS.
231
stroyinghim, in order to obtain possession both of his
daughter and his property, and for this purpose for-
warded arsenic to Miss Blandy, which she was indu-
ced from time  to  time to  mix in his food and drink.
It produced prickings and heat in  his  tongue  and
throat,  and  burning and  pains in his stomach  and
bowels, which went off with vomitings and purgings.
His health sunk under this dreadful regimen, and in
particular, he observed that  his teeth decayed very
rapidly.  Several females who had accidentally tak-
en ofthe tea  iu which the  poison was mixed, were al-
so seized with vomitings  and purgings,  and suffered
greatly.  At last, on the 6th of August, she appears
to have added a larger quantity than usual to his wa-
ter gruel.   He was attacked  with  all his former
symptoms,  but with double violence ; the  abdomen
swelled, and there was excessive pain and prickings
over every part of his  body.   On the 10th, Dr. An-
thony Addington visited him,  and found his tongue
swelled, his throat slightly inflamed and excoriated,
his eyes inflamed, his pulse low, trembling and inter-
mitting, and his respiration difficult.   There was also
an inability to swallow  even the smallest  quantity.
The  patient stated that he had had several bloody
stools.   During  the  next two days, he appeared
somewhat relieved, except that the rectum was ulce-
rated  and painful,  but on Tuesday,  (13th) a slight
delirium, with  a short cough, and ulcerous discharg-
es from the rectum supervened, and death ensued on
Wednesday.
   On Thursday, the body  was examined. " The
back and hinder part of  his  arms, thighs and legs,
were livid.  The heart  was  variegated with purple
spots.  The, lungs resembled  bladders half  filled
with  air, and blotted in  some places  with pale,  but
in most with black  ink.  The liver and spleen were
much discoloured ; the former looked  as if it had
been boiled, but that part of it which covered the sto-
mach, was  particularly  dark.   The kidneys were
stained with livid spots.   The stomach and bowels 
 2o2            MINERAL  POISONS.

 were inflated, and appeared, before any incision was
 made into them, as if they had been pinched, and ex-
 travasated blood had stagnated between  their mem-
 branes.  They contained nothing, but a slimy, bloody
 froth.   Their coats  were remarkably smooth,  thin
 and flabby.  The wrinkles of the stomach were to-
 tally obliterated.   The internal coat of the stomach
 and duodenum, especially about the orifice ofthe for-
 mer, was prodigiously inflamed and excoriated. There
 was no schirrus in  any gland of the abdomen, no ad-
 hesion ofthe lungs, nor indeed the least trace of a na-
 tural decay in any part whatever."
  A portion of the  powder found at the bottom of the
 gruel administered to Mr.  Blandy, was handed to
 Dr. Addington.  He gave a part of this to Mr.  King,
 a chemist in Reading, who examined it, and declared
 it to be white arsenic.  On  the remainder he experi-
 mented himself,  and came  to a similar result.   The
 question was asked  him, Why do you believe it to
 be white arsenic?  He replied,  "For the  following
 reasons:—1. This powder has a  milky whiteness ;
 so has  white arsenic.  2. This is gritty, and  almost
 insipid;  so is white arsenic.  3. Part of it swims on
 the surface  of cold water,  like a  pale  sulphureous
 film, but the greatest  part sinks to the bottom, and re-v
 mains  there  undissolved ; the same is  true of  white
 arsenic.  4. This  thrown on red-hot iron, does  not
 flame,  but rises entirely in thick white fumes, which
 have the stench of  garlic, and cover cold iron,  held
just over them,  with white flowers ; white arsenic
 does the same.   5.  I boiled ten grains of this powder
 in four ounces of clear water,  and  then passing  the
 decoction through  a filter, divided it into five  equal
 parts,  which  were put  into  as many glasses.   Into
 one glass, I poured a few drops of spirits of sal  am-
 moniac ; into another, some ofthe lixivium  of tartar;
 into the third, some strong spirit of vitriol ; into  the
 fourth, some spirit of salt; and into the last,  some
 syrup of violets.   The spirit of sal ammoniac threw
 down a few  particles of pale sediment; the lixivium 
                MINERAL POISONS.             233

of tartar gave  a white cloud,  which  hung  a little
above the middle of the glass ;  the spirits  of vitriol
and salt made a considerable precipitation of a light-
ish coloured substance, which, in the former, harden-
ed into glittering crystals, sticking to the sides and
bottom  of  the  glass ;  syrup of violets produced a
beautiful green  tincture.  Having washed the sauce-
pan, funnel, and glasses used  in the foregoing expe-
riments, very clean, and provided a fresh filtre, I
boiled  ten  grains  of white arsenic, bought  of Mr.
Wilcock, druggist in Reading, in four ounces of clean
water,  and filtering and dividing it into five equal
parts, proceeded with them just as I had  done with
the former decoction.   There was an exact similitude
between the experiments made on the two decoctions.
They corresponded so nicely on each trial, that I de-
clare  I never  saw any two things in nature more
alike, than the  decoction made with the powder found
in Mr. Blandy's gruel, and  that made with white ar-
senic.   From these experiments, and others which I
am ready to produce if desired, I believe that powder
to be white arsenic."
   Miss Blandy was condemned and executed, deny-
ing to the last any  knowledge of a noxious quality in
the powder she gave to her father.*
   The case of Nairn and Ogilvie.   Katherine Nairn
and Patrick Ogilvie were tried before the high court
of justiciary in  Scotland, in August,  1765, for incest
and murder.  Thomas  Ogilvie, the husband of one
of the parties,  and the brother of  the other,  appears
to have been  a  man in  bad health, subject to colics
and cough.    On the day before he died,  he  was on
foot  several  miles from his house, and told two or
three individuals  that he  was unwell.   He arose,
however, on  the morning of the 6th of June, some-
what better—walked a mile or  two,  and  on his re-
turn, took some tea which had been prepared for him
by his wife.  Shortly after, he was seized with vo«
* Hargrave's State Trials, vol. 10, p. 1 to 35
 VOL. II.                 3° 
234
MINERAL POISONS.
miting and purging—complained of great thirst, dif-
ficulty of breathing, and pain in the calves of his legs.
For about an hour before his death, there was an in-
termission of the vomiting,  but a severe attack then
took place, in which he died.   This was at night.
  Two surgeons and a physician viewed  the body
six days after death.   They found the lips, nails, and
a part of the breast discoloured, and the tongue swell-
ed beyond its natural size, and cleaving to the roof of
the mouth.  Dr.  Ogilvie thought the body too much
putrefied at this time  to be opened with safety to the
operator;  and accordingly  no dissection was made.
It was inquired of one of the surgeons,  whether these
appearances might not  happen in a bilious colic ; to
which he replied, that the swelling of the tongue and
discoloration of the lips would not.
   It was proved that  Patrick  Ogilvie had shortly be-
fore purchased some arsenic.
   Both the  accused were  convicted.  Ogilvie  was
executed, but Katherine Nairn escaped  from prison.*
   In this case it may be observed, that a negligence
almost criminal seems  to have attended the  investi-
gation ; and  this  is the more astonishing,  as appre-
hensions were entertained of  poisoning several days
before the death of Ogilve.  It is certainly very ex-
traordinary that the poisoned tea was not examined,)
and it is equally so that the body was  not inspected
immediately  after  death.
   Case of Miss Burns.  I have already noticed this
as to the proofs of conception,! and will now consider
it with reference to the question of poisoning.
   The symptoms.   " About six o'clock on  Wednes-
day the 23d of March, 1808,  this unfortunate female
was seen by the servants in her usual state of health.
She was next seen by the servants at about a quarter
before nine,  sitting at breakfast with Mr. Angus, ap-
parently very ill.  After breakfast, she was lying on
a sofa, still  very bad, and complaining of a  pain in

  * Hargrave's State Trials, vol. 10, p. 479 to 520.
  t See vol. l,p. 147. 
MINERAL POISONS.
235
her bowels.   On moving about afterwards, she held
by the chair, as if from pain ;  and about an hour and
a half after breakfast,  she ordered some water-gruel,
of which she drank nearly three quarts in the course
of the day.  She continued very thirsty, in pain, and
sick the  whole  day, vomiting frequently, and reject-
ing the  gruel  almost immediately after taking it.
What she vomited, appears to have been of a green
colour.   On Thursday morning  at six o'clock, she
was lying, as she  had  been left the night before, on
the sofa, with  pillows under her head.   She com-
plained that she was very thirsty—said she was tired
of gruel, and got some water posset  and a little warm-
ed beer.   She  also complained that she  was badly
hurt to make water, but was relieved by sitting on an
onion sliced, with some boiling water poured upon it.
This morning  her vomiting was  of a black colour,
and she  continued sick and vomiting all day, till to-
wards evening, when the sickness  went oft', and she
appeared better, and could stir more about.
   On Friday morning at  four, the house-maid went
into the room,  and thought her much worse, as she
breathed quicker  than before.  She was  again seen
about six, in  much the same state, and lying in the
same posture on the sofa.   She asked for some warm
beer, which remained on her stomach, and she  also
got about a pint of gruel.   She  said  that  the  pain
had left her.  Her vomiting had ceased, but was suc-
ceeded  by a lax, which  continued all the morning.
A little before  ten,  the house-maid was sent out for
some madeira, Miss Burns  having asked for some.
Between ten and eleven, the  kitchen-maid was in the
room, and received orders about dinner.  Miss Burns
said she would have some barley-water.   On the re-
turn  of  the  house-maid, about eleven,  she went
straight  into the parlour, and Miss Burns was found
lying dead in the corner by the  door, with  her  face
against the wall, cowered of a lump, her elbows upon
her knees, and  one foot crudled under her.
   During the whole course of her illness, she did not
y 
236
MINERAL POISONS.
go to bed, but remained in the parlour, generally  ly-
ing on a sofa.  She refused to have  medical assist
ance, but Mr. Angus said he gave her seven drops of
laudanum one night, and ten  drops another,  and on
the morning of  her death,  some castor oil in spirits,
which came up  immediately."'
  Appearances on dissection.  Drs. Rutter and Ge-
rard, with Mr. Hay, a surgeon, examined the body
on Sunday, two days after  her death.  " After hav-
ing removed the body, a small stain of blood was ob-
served on the sheet of the bed on  which it had laid,
and the pillow  was  stained with a fluid which had
issued from the head.  The  body being lain  on a
table, a large quantity of a  thin yellowish fluid pour-
ed out from the nostrils, and was collected in vessels.
No marks of external violence  were  discovered on
the body, nor  wras  there  any  appearance of  com-
mencing putrefaction.  The nails of the fingers were
of a bluish colour, and the veins on the external sur-
face of the abdomen  appeared to be much  enlarged.
On opening the  abdomen, a considerable quantity of
fluid was found  to have been effused into that  cavity,
similar in colour and smell to that which issued from
the nostrils, but more turbid,  Marks of inflammation
were found on the external or peritoneal coat of dif-
ferent portions  of  the small intestines, but the large
intestines were free from it.  The external  coat of a
part of the smaller curvature of the stomach was also
inflamed; and a similar appearauce of inflammation
was  observed on a small portion  of the anterior edge
of the liver, directly over  the smaller curvature of the
stomach.   On raising up the stomach, an opening
through its coats, of about the size of a crown piece,
was found in the anterior and  inferior part of its  great
curvature;  and from this  opening, a considerable
quantity of a thick fluid, of a dark olive colour,  is-
sued, of which  fluid  some ounces were collected  and
preserved.  The natural  structure of the coats of the
stomach for a considerable space around this opening,
was destroyed,  and they were so soft, pulpy and ten- 
MINERAL POISONS.
237
der, that they tore with the slightest touch.  Around
this part of the coats of the stomach, there were no
traces of inflammation whatever.   The stomach was
then taken out of the body, and its internal surface
was carefully washed, and the contents washed  out
were  preserved.  The internal  villous coat of the
duodenum  was slightly inflamed ;  and a quantity,
about three ounces,  of a fluid resembling that in the
stomach, but not quite so thick, was also taken out of
one of the smaller intestines and preserved."
   Chemical examination.   The  assistance of  Dr.
Bostock was  obtained  for  this investigation.  The
fluid taken  out of the stomach and  intestines,  and
cavity of the abdomen, as well as that collected from
the nostrils, were  subjected to various  tests  by that
able chemist, but no proof of the presence of arsenic
or mercury could  be obtained.  And  the examiner
could not discover  in the contents of the stomach, by
the  smell,  the presence  of any known  deleterious
vegetable substance.   The  fluid  contained in the
 stomach deposited no sediment, nor was any but a
 mucous sediment found in the water with which the
 inner surface of the stomach was washed.
   The contents of the stomach were examined in the
 state in which they were  found, and also after being
 filtered, but with equally unsatisfactory results.
   In consequence of  the circumstances  attending the
 death of Miss Burns, Mr. Angus was indicted for her
 murder, and on the trial  Dr. Carson, of  Liverpool,
 appeared as a witness for the prisoner.   He objected
 to the  conclusiveness of the proof, both as to symp-
 toms and as to the appearances on dissection.
   As to the symptoms, he urged that  their general
 mildness showed that she had not been poisoned.  This
 however is merely a gratuitous  assertion.  Death en-
 sued in this case after an illness of only fifty hours—
 and it certainly requires  a full share of hardiness to
 say that a mild disease would produce this.  He also
 observed,  that from all he had read of mineral poi-
 sons,  he was led to  believe that convulsions have ai- 
 238             MINERAL POISONS.

 ways preceded death.   Here he  is no less  mistaken.
 Convulsions aud delirium,  which he  afterwards no-
 ticed, are both uncommon  attendants on the exhibi-
 tion of this class of poisons.
   As to the  appearances on dissection,  he remarked
 that the bodies of persons killed by poison, run rapid-
 ly into putrefaction, and as this  did not occur in the
 present case, so it was a proof in favour  of the accus-
 ed.   1 have shown in  a previous page,  from facts
 quoted in the notice of the trial,  and from other sour-
 ces, that this is a totally incorrect opinion.
   The state of  the stomach and its  erosion,  he ex-
 plained, by referring to  Mr. Hunter's  paper in the
 action of the gastric juice.  As I have already en-
larged ou this point, I will not repeat the arguments
 used, but I may add, that the medical  witness for the
 crown urged against  its  probability, the  fact,  that
 none of the neighboring viscera  were  acted upon by
 this fluid.  They also suggested that during the  ill-
 ness of Miss Burns, the large quantity of fluid which
 she drank,  and which  was immediately rejected  by
 vomiting, musthave carried off the gastric juice nearly
 as fast as it was secreted, and the quantity of fluid found
 in her stomach must have so diluted and weakened
 the gastric juice remaining, as to render  it unequal to
 dissolve the stomach itself after death.   The injury
 was not in the lowest and most depending  part, but
 in the anterior part of the large curvature.  Lastly,
 the action ofthe gastric juice afforded no explanation
 of the inflammation in the duodenum, small intestines,
 liver or fundus uteri.
   The chemical proofs of  poisoning were wanting in
 this case, but the remark of the  witnesses  on this is
 founded in truth.  " We  are not always  (say they)
 to infer that  poison has not been administered, be-
 cause  it could not be detected in the contents of the
 stomach after death."*

  » Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 5, p. 220. Bostock's Vindica-
 tion, &c. 
MINERAL POISONS.
239
   The  case of Kesler.*  Abraham Kesler was tried
at the Schoharie oyer and terminer,  in the state of
New-York, on the 12th September,  1817, for poison-
ing his  wife.  The indictment contained two counts,
one for administering white arsenic, and the other for
administering laudanum.   Judge Yates (now gover-
nor of this state) presided.
   Symptoms.  The prisoner and his wife came to the
house of  Catherine Best,  in  the  town of  Middle-
burgh,  on Sunday evening, the 17th of November,
1816.   About  midnight,  the prisoner informed  the
landlady that his wife was seized with a violent vom-
iting  and purging,  but he refused the assistance that
was preferred.   In the morning, the deceased said
she was easier,  but complained of  pain in her stom-
ach and head, and  was extremely thirsty.  During
the day, she grew worse, with pains in her head and
stomach ; she perspired very much, and complained
of a burning heat in her breast and stomach.  Cold
chills also occurred  occasionally.   On the second
morning, she appeared better, but still felt pain, and a
burning heat in the stomach.   Mrs.  Best urged the
prisoner to  send for a physician,  which  he declined
at first, but  after repeated requests, at last said  he
would go for one.  It appears that he purchased some
medicines,  but never desired the physician to visit
his wife.   Iudeed  no medical man saw her until the
day before her  death.   On Tuesday  afternoon she
was again  seized with violent pains  and vomiting,
and at  intervals with cold chills and  sweats.  The
next morning she was better and attempted to sit up,
but a trembling in her limbs and drowziness came on,
which forced her to return to bed.
   On Wednesday afternoon, the prisoner said he had

  * 1 had  intended to add the case of Eliza Fenning in this place, but on
referring to it, I find the proofs of poisoning were completely established,
so much so indeed, that the arsenic in powder was picked out ofthe poison-
ed dumpling, and a half tea-spoonful of it was taken out ofthe pan in which
they had been kneaded. The question which excited so much agitation in
England, was, whether she had been the poisoner ? I have noticed the symp-
toms in another place. 
240
MINERAL POISONS.
given her  a vomit—in  the evening,  all her  former
symptoms  returned with  great violence.   She said
her whole body was in distress and pain, and was
alternately cold and hot.   Kesler was again urged to
go for a physician, which he did,  but  brought none
with him.   On Thursday, she was occasionally de-
lirious.   Kesler gave her more medicine, upon which
she grew still worse.   In the evening, Dr. Carpenter
saw" her,  and pronounced  her past recovery.  On
Friday she could  not speak,  and died on the evening
of the same day, (the 22d of November.)
  From the evidence of Dr. Carpenter, it  appeared
that Kesler had called on him several times  and pur-
chased a dose of tartar emetic, two portions of cathar-
tic, and three or four fever powders, composed of opi-
um, camphor and tartar emetic.   He also  obtained
from Dr. C. half an ounce of opium,  stating that his
wife was in the habit of taking opium and could not
well do without it.  This was afterwards proved to
be totally  false.   Her relatives with  whom she had
resided (for Kesler enlisted  as a soldier immediately
after his marriage, and never lived more than four or
five months out of five years with his wife) positively
swore that they had never  known her to take any
opium.  When Kesler called the  second time on the
physician, he obtained more opium, alledging that the
former had been lost.  On the third visit, he purchas-
ed  a  vomit.   On Thursday evening, when  Dr. C.
saw the deceased, she complained of a severe pain in
the pit of the stomach,  and such soreness about that
part,  that she could not bear the bed clothes  on her.
Her  extremities were cold, her pulse was  fluttering,
intermitting and  very feeble, and her countenance
ghastly.
  Appearances on dissection.  The body was disin-
terred two months after death, for the purpose of in-
spection.   Putrefaction  was far advanced, and the
surface of the body was of a  dark colour, particularly
on  the abdomen.  The stomach and intestines were
in  an highly inflamed state, and on opening the for- 
MINERAL POISONS.             2ii
mer viscus, a small quantity of a very dark coloured
.fluid  was observed.   Small particles of a vitreous
appearance, were also  discovered on the inner coat,
and some, of them had penetrated into it.  Finally,
opium in  considerable quantity was found in the sto-
mach.
  The intestines do not appear to have been particu-
larly examined,  but it is mentioned  that particles of
the same nature as those mentioned above, were taken
from the smaller ones.
  Chemical examination.  The particles in question
when crushed with a knife, exhibited a white colour.
Some of them were thrown on a heated  iron, and a
dense white fume arose from their combustion, but the
witnesses state that they could not detect  any pecu
liar smell.  And they account for this from the fact,
that tar was kept burning in the  room to destroy the
smell from the corpse.  Dr. Miller and Dr.  White
at different times placed a portion of these  particles*
between polished plates of copper, and after securing
them with an  iron wire, submitted them to a red heat.
In both instances, the interior of the plates towards
their edges were  whitened in a circular form.
  Dr. Miller  took home about  two tea-spoonfulls of
the contents  of  the stomach, which also  contained
some of the particles,  but indisposition prevented him
for some time from performing any experiments on it.
When he did  so, he diluted the contents of the stom-
ach with a pint  of water, and being now colourless,
he applied  Marcet's  test in  the manner directed by
that  chemist.  An orange coloured precipitate  fell
down, and on repeating the same upon a known so-
lution of arsenic, the  same precipitate was observed.
Dr. Joseph White also performed this experiment at
his residence, but the result in question  was  not ob-
tained,  in consequence of the turbid state of the fluid.
As opium had been  detected in the stomach  by the

  ' It must be noticed, that the particles solely were placed between the
copper. No charcoal was added.
    VOX. II.               31 
242             MINERAL  POISONS.
smell and the taste, he took a solution of arsenic, and
added to it some ofthe tincture of  opium.  Marcet's
test was then applied, and a precipitate  was produ-
ced, of the same colour and  appearance as that pro-
duced on the fluid of the stomach.
  Dr. Joseph White also put some of the fluid of the
stomach into a phial, containing a solution of the sul-
phate of copper and subcarbonate  of potash.  '' This
mixture," he testifies, " after standing for some time,
produced a copious precipitate ; that precipitate, how-
ever was darker,  and that portion  of the fluid above
the precipitate was also darker than what takes place
in the process for making Scheele's green."
  This was  the medical testimony.  Accessary cir-
cumstantial evidence was adduced, and the  result of
the investigation was a verdict against the prisoner.
  Judge Yates transmitted the minutes of the  testi-
mony to the executive, (Governor Clinton,) who sub-
mitted  them to the examination of  Dr. M'Neven,   t
professor of chemistry in the New-York School of
Medicine.   The report  of  this gentleman,  together
with a statement from the foreman  of the jury, indu-
ced the Governor to suspend the execution of Kesler,
and to refer the consideration of his case to the legis-
lature,  the supreme tribunal, to whom the power of
pardoning or punishing would now belong.
  Dr. M'Neven barely notices the  deposition of  Dr.
Carpenter, but remarks on  the appearances  after
death, that the advanced state of putrefaction, and the
numerous and various causes of inflammation, render
any inferences from  them inconclusive.   " Any con-
clusion," he remarks, " to be  drawn  from  the ap-
pearance of  inflammation in this case, must therefore
depend for corroboration altogether on other facts."
  As to the chemical tests, he observes, that the dense
smoke  proved nothing.   Other mineral  substances,
as corrosive sublimate, calomel, tartar emetic,  when
placed on a heated iron,  gave out  a  dense  white
smoke.
  As to the experiment with copper plates, he states 
MINERAL POISONS.
243
 that he put oxide of tin (putty of tin) between two
 plates of bright copper, and surrounded it with a cir-
 cle  of powdered  charcoal.  The plates  were then
 brought to a strong red heat, and the consequence
 was a whitish stain towards the edges of the copper.
 The same experiment  was made with caloraej, and
 there  appeared an  irregular whitening towards the
 edges,  but less  distinctly than in the former  case.
 Dr.  M'Neven then  made  a  third  experiment  with
 charcoal  alone, and having  raised the  heat pretty
 high, there was left in the place of the charcoal, a pale
 brass coloured circumscribed spot, that appeared  white
 in comparison of the red copper colour round it.   Rub-
 bing did  not at all lessen  this whitish stain.   " An
 experienced eye," he remarks, "would perhaps dis-
 tinguish all these stains from the whitening of arsen-
 ic, but in  a capital case, I would not like to convict
 on a shade of colour."
   To the value of Marcet's test,  he objects, that Dr.
 Miller should have  stated whether well water had
 been used, as it alone would give a precipitate with
 nitrate of silver.  The colour ofthe precipitate should
 have been yellow instead of orange.  And finally, he
 urges the  fact,  that phosphoric acid would produce
 the yellow precipitate.
  As to Scheele's green,  its inconclusiveness was
 shown hy the following experiment.   " I took the ex-
 pressed juice of onions and added to it a solution of
 sulphate of copper; immediately the whole was  turn-
 ed to a beautiful green,  not to be distinguished in ap-
 pearance from that of Scheele's green."
  In his general remarks on  the scientific testimony,
 Dr. M'Neven offers the following opinion.   " Some
 of the results obtained in the experiments ofthe  phy-
 sicians, are such  as arsenic will  afford,  but not ex-
 clusively ;  nor can any reliance be placed on any one
or all of them,  unsupported by others more decisive.
I have shown, that the same,  or some very similar to
them, proceed from  other and innocent  substances.
At the same time,  the unerring signs of arsenic  were 
244
MINERAL POISONS.
 not had at all; nor were the most proper means taken
 to procure them.
   " The only thing to be relied on,  in the opinion of
 the best chemists, is the exhibition of the metal itself
 in  its metallic lustre and state.  The arsenic might
 next be further  identified by putting a small quantity
 between two polished  plates of copper,  surrounded
 by powdered charcoal,  and exposing them to a low
 red heat.   If the included substance be arsenic, a
 white stain  will be left  on the copper.  In  this way,
 every part supports another,  and there is no possible
 ambiguity.   But as those  experiments,  which  are
 alone certain, were omitted, and no  experiment per-
 formed with unexceptionable  accuracy,  I  must  (he
 concludes) give it as my opinion, confining it however
 to the scientific part of  the testimony, that the indict-
 ment for poisoning with arsenic is not substantiated
 by the evidence of the witnesses."
   The message of the governor, with its accompany-
 ing  documents,  was referred to a committee of  the
 legislature.   These gentlemen proposed  questions to
 several  physicians summoned  before them,  (Drs.
 Low, Stearns and Bay,  and the author of this work,)
 touching the symptoms, appearances and tests, and
 at their request also, experiments  were instituted by
 the late Dr. James Low,* with reference to the difficul-
 ties proposed by Dr. M'Neven.  The answers to the
 questions admitted among other things,  that all the
 tests of arsenic had not been used, and that in particular
the reduction of the metal, the most important one, had
been omitted.   But they stated at the same time, that
the experiments generally,  indicated the presence of
arsenic.   They also mentioned, that although other
causes might have  produced the symptoms in ques-
tion, yet they were among the usual effects of arsenic,
 particularly  if,  as  was  highly probable,  the exhibi-
tion of opium had been  interposed between its differ-

TALA»|raduateMofT?t!inburgh' and wh!le there th* Pr^ate pupil of the late
John Murray, M.D. lecturer on chemistry.          *  v 
MINERAL  POISONS.              245
ent administrations.   They asserted the improbabili-
ty of the white particles being the remains of any of
the medicines  furnished to  the prisoner by Dr.  Car-
penter, and they urged the fact of these particles lay-
ing  uualtered  for two months in the stomach, a9 a
proof that they were of a metallic nature.*
   Dr. Low applied Marcet's test to a solution of ar-
senite of potash and to an infusion of onions.  In  the
one case, the characteristic appearance was produced,
but in the other,  " there was so slight a variation of
colour (if any) that it could not be named, and no pre-
cipitate at all."   The sulphate of copper was then
applied  to a solution of white oxide  of arsenic and
potash, and also to a  portion of the infusion of onions.
In the former,  a bluish green precipitate appeared; in
the latter no obvious green colour was present, and
no precipitate.
  Five grains  of oxide of  bismuth,  with a circle of
charcoal, was next placed between two plates of cop-
per,  and the  same quantity of corrosive   sublimate,
tartar emetic  and arsenic  was  treated in  a similar
manner.   The eight plates in question were thus sub-
mitted to an equal degree of heat.   On examination,
the bismuth plates exhibited a slight whitish spot in
the centre of the plates,  where  the  bismuth was  in
contact.   The corrosive sublimate and  tartar emetic
ones had the copper hue impaired in different places,
and  in some parts,  they were permanently  a little
whitish, but the  arsenic plates presented the une-
quivocal silver-like alloy.!   " I should have no hesi-
tation," he adds " in stating, that these experiments,
all of which produced changes  on the surface of  the
copper, decide the question as the appearance of  the
alloy of copper and arsenic, in which there is, com-

  * The answer to one question is doubtless incorrect, and must therefore
be noticed.  It refers to the rapidity with which arsenic will induce vomit-
ing, and asserts that a full stomach will probably retard the operation, and an
empty one accelerate  it.  Renault and others assert that the contrary is the
fact, and they substantiate it by cases.
  t These plates were afterwards shown to Dr. Joseph White, who stated
distinctly, that the appearance found by him perfectly resembled the arsenic
plates used by Dr. Low. 
246
MINERAL POISONS.
  paratively, a marked difference of  aspect from the
  other three."
    The committee of  the  legislature  presented  a
  statement of these  answers and experiments  to the
  legislature;  but they stated explicitly,  " that  they
  would not, however, direct  the execution of the con-
  vict upon this testimony alone, and their opinion had
  been  influenced entirely  by taking  it  in connection
  with the other testimony in the cause."   They accop
  dingly brought in an act for the execution of Kesler,
  which  passed both  houses of the legislature and the
  council of revision, (consisting of the  governor, chan-
  cellor and judges,) and he  suffered  the punishment
  prescribed.*
    I do not intend to offer many remarks on this case,
  but I may  be permitted to  say,  that while  1 deeply
  regret that the reduction of the metal was not effected,
 yet the results obtained from the tests used,  present
 to my mind a very strong chain of evidence against
 the accused.  I am acquainted with the fact, that ex-
 ertions  were fruitlessly made to procure the proper
 apparatus for the reduction,  and therefore the invi-
 dious sneers that have appeared  concerning the igno-
 rance ofthe witnesses, might well have been spared.
 But 1 will  not enter into this controversy.   Dr. M'-
 Neven  viewed the subject  as a chemist.   I  wish to
 consider it (so far as the distinction is allowable) as a
 medical jurist, and 1  present it to those who are de-
 sirous of examination, in the  following point of view.
 What substance is there, that will lay undissolved for
 two months in the stomach of a diseased  person, and
 on proper  trials,  will give, in a fluid state, a  vellow
 precipitate! with  Marcet's test, and  although turbid,  '

 abIt!r/thofr.ar,r1atiTe'^ha7endea.VOUred toPresen* ^ fair and complete
 abstract of all the leading facts and reasonings adduced by the various in-
 dividuals concerned, and I trust that it will be so considered. At all events,
 any iartof itC,°USneSS        " "° intentional Perversion or omission in
 Jt\T thiS tC^m adyised,y-  The characteristic appearance of Marcet's
 uiloZ  ™3UeSt!°.na,J,y  PrSent'. and ,he  use of the te«n orange instead of
£l'nwi,?A  Cad ,"S to,COnje,Ct'-,re a  mistake on this  point.  The test
j3ec?       Same     ° SOlUtt°n •/°rWBI'e»and «» resemblance was 
MINERAL POISONS.
247
 will present a dark green with Scheele's ? These re-
 iults must be taken unitedly,  and not separately.   It
 is certainly no answer, that the oxide of tin will pro-
 duce one,  and a decoction of onions the  other.   Ln
 order to render  them  properly available,  it  should
 have been  proved that  they had been administered
 during the illness of the female.   The probability at
 present is decidedly against it.   Scheele's green also
 is a  sufficient preventive of mistake as to phosphoric
 salts.
   Again, are not the symptoms  strongly  corrobora-
 tive ? The administration of  a substance which pro-
 duced  violent vomiting, after she was convalescing,
 and  the repeated exhibition of this article after its at-
 tendant train of  consequences, with his falsehood re-
 specting the attendance of  a  physician, certainly in-
.dicate a determination  to destroy the  health,  if not
 the life  of the individual.   What is  there in  his  fa-
 vour ?  Is it to be found in his offers to another female
 while his wife was  living, or in his wishes that she was
 out of the land of  the living,  or in his often repeated
 determinatioas that he  would never  live with her ?*
 And yet this is a man whose condemnation, according
 to Dr.  Thomas Cooper,  is  "  not creditable either  to
 the  chemical knowledge of  the physicians  whose
 evidence influenced his  condemnation, or to the juris-
prudence ofthe state  which directed  his execution."^
 This is the man,  of whose  trial  he  has said, " no

  * Dr. Cooper, in one of his ;>L^iicauj.is, remarks, that it has not been
proved that Kesler had any arsenic in his  possession. In elucidation of this,
I submit the following extracts from a letter dated May 4, 1823, which I
received from Henry J Frey, Esq. late a member of the senate of this state,
and resident near the place where Kesler then lived. " Dr. Atwater was the
family physician of Mrs. Halcomb, for whom Kesler officiated as bar-tend-
er. The doctor informs me, that while in attendance at court, he called at
the county prison to see. Kesler.  Other persons were also present, and
while retiring, the prisoner beckoned \o  the doctor to come to him.  He
did so, aud while  there, was very earnestly solicited to relate what he
would testify to, in relation to the arsenic sold by him to the Halcomb  fa-
mily,  and particularly  whether he could swear that he (Kesler) had pur-
chased it,  at the same time observing, " that  it was Mrs. Halcomb's boy
wUo purchased it."  On the doctor's answering, that he thought it was the
little boy that purchased the arsenic, great pleasure was expressed by the
prisoner."
  I Cooper's Tracts, p. 431. 
248              MINERAL POISONS.
 lawyer can find any positive, and no chemist any pro-
 bable proof of guilt."*   This is the man on whom he
 has rung changes in the Democratic Press, before the
 American Philosophical Society, and in  the preface
 and in  the appendix of his Tracts on Medical Juris-
 prudence.  Dr. M'Neven asserted, that  the  reduc-
 tion of the metal was alone to be depended on.   He
 said so, and  he maintained it manfully.  Dr. Cooper
 came forward as  his champion and friend—quotes
 long extracts from papers  familiar to every  student
 in chemistry, and when we were  looking for new ar-
 guments and new proofs in favour of Dr. M'Neven's
 assertion,  what  does he present us with ? A new
 test—a test, which from its  very application, must
 be productive of uncertainty—a  test, which the only
 experimenter, that has subsequently examined it, findi
 Protean in its character, and the results concerning
 which, are diametrically opposite to those stated by
 Dr. Cooper himself.
  It is not for  me  to vindicate the jurisprudence of
 this state.  I have only to  point to the men who were
 at that time members of  the council of revision,  and
 who deliberately sanctioned the execution.!
  I will only subjoin to these a case which lately oc-
 curred in Germany, and  which is peculiarly interest-
 ing from the  chemical examination that was pursued.
 I have referred to it at page 230.
  " The subject of it was  a woman, 32 years of age,
 and whose husband had of late given strong proofs of
 his desire to  be separated from her.   Returning one
 day from work, she found  her husband and children
had already dined, a portion consisting of potatoes  and
beans, being left in the oven for  her, and  to this she
 sat down with an appetite,  but owing  to its very un-
pleasant taste, compared  to high seasoning  with pep-
per,  she  could not eat much of  it.  Resuming  her
 v\ork,  she was in half an hour attacked with a'sensc

 * Democratic Press, April 14, 1818.
 t The members present, (March 27,1818,) and who voted  for his execu-
tion, were, De Witt Clinton, Governor; James Kent, Chancellor : Smith
Thompson, Chief Justice; and Ambrose Spencer, Judge. 
MINERAL POISONS.
%49
of burning heat iu the throat, and violent pains in her
belly, quickly succeeded by urgent thirst, vomiting
and diarrhoea.  The symptoms increased, and on the
second day afterwards, medical assistance was called
in by one of the neighbours, but  the medicines ad-
ministered were rejected by vomiting, and on the
night of the fifth day the patient expired,  h;tving on
the day preceding her  death, been interrogated and
given the most collected answers to the officers of jus-
tice.   It was ascertained that the husband had bought
arsenic a short time previously ; and two of the chil-
dren, who had tasted of their mother's dinner, were
attacked with symptoms similar to  her's, but recover-
ed.  No part ofthe infected food could be procured,
from the husband having carefully thrown it away.—
On dissection of  the body of the woman, the stomach
and  intestines were found highly inflamed, and  the
mucous membrane of these viscera in several places
was  detached.
  " The contents of the stomach,  consisting of  five
ounces of yellowish red fluid,  in the  sediment of
which nothing in the form of powder could be detect-
ed, either by the touch or the eye,  assisted by a mi-
croscope,  were first subjected to experiment.  Being
mixed with  24 ounces  of distilled water,  the whole
was  subjected to ebullition for  an hour,  and then
strained, when twelve and a half ounces of fluid were
obtained, which  was made the subject ofthe following
trials : The colour of a piece of litmus paper was not
iu the least altered by it. An ounce of it mixed with 20
drops of a solution of ammohiaretted copper, assumed
a yellowish green colour, and deposited a slight pre-
cipitate of a similar hue,  which,  when  dried  and
burnt, emitted a slight but very perceptible arsenical
smell, like garlic.   Another ounce  of it, mixed with
half an ounce of a solution of sulphuretted hydrogen,
became clouded, and soon after deposited a small yel-
low  sediment, which, treated as the preceding, emit-
ted first a sulphurous, and then an arsenical smell.  A
third ounce being put in a glass vessel, and made to
    vol- n.             32 
250             MINERAL POISONS.
boil,  had as much boiling lime water added to it,
when the mixture became milky, and the sediment al-
so in this case gave a smell of garlic when burnt.—
(Experiments like the three  preceding,  were made
with a solution  of arsenie> two grains to  an ounce of
boiling distilled water, and atlorded similar results,
with this difference, that the precipitates were in lar-
ger quantities.)   A large teaspoonful of the fluid be-
ing poured on a red hot plate of copper, after the eva-
poration ofthe water, emitted a distinct smell of gar-
lic, and there remained on the copper small White
spots surrounded with a black ring,  and which spots
could only be effaced with difficulty.
   " The contents of the  small intestines  weighing
ninety-two drachms, and consisting of a fluid similar
to that found in the stomach,  mixed with  a larger
quantity of  mucus and a little  yellowish excrement,
had  thirty-two ounces of  distilled water mixed with
them, and were then exposed to ebullition for an hour
and filtered.  Owing to the quantity of mucus, it was on-
ly at the end of several days that six ounces of filtered
liquid were obtained, and what remained on the filter
having almost coagulated, no more could be extracted.
That which was produced did not, in the slightest de-
gree, redden litmus paper.   A portion of it mixed with
a solution of ammoniaretted copper, assumed a dark
grass-green colour, and deposited a bright green pre-
cipitate, which, dried and burnt, emitted the peculiar
smell of  arsenic.  Another portion mixed with a so-
lution of sulphuretted hydrogen, afforded a much lar-
ger sediment, than in the same experiment with the flu-
id obtaiued from  the stomach, and which sediment did
not differ in the slightest degree from the colour of one
of orpiment standing beside it, and it also gave th«
smell  of garlic when burnt.  A third  portion of the
fluid,  made to boil and mixed with boiling lime wa-
ter, produced a similar,  but much more  copious depo-
sit than that obtained in the same trial with the first
mentioned fluid.  A teaspoonful of the fluid poured 
MINERAL POISONS.
251
on a red hot plate of copper, gave the same results as
in the former instance.
  " However convincing these proofs were of the pre-
sence of arsenic acid in the fluids submitted to exper-
iment, and also of the large quantity of  it in that pro-
cured from the intestines, still in so important a matter
we  did not consider them sufficient,  and we now pro-
ceeded to  boil the esophagus, stomach and intestines,
on the plan proposed by Valentine Rose, in order to
detect any particles of arsenic that might be engrained
in these parts, or enveloped  in mucus, and to procure
them in a solid form, or as metal.   It  may be previ-
ously remarked, that although it was now eight days
since death, and four days since the parts in  question
had been removed from the body,  and though they
had not been kept in a cold room,  still they did not
emit the slightest putrid smell;  they were as  yet so
firm and tough as to prevent their easily being cut with
a common scalpel, and a pair of strong scissars was
required for this purpose.  On the internal coat of the
stomach and intestines,  something  like a powder or
crystals could  be  perceived, either by the  touch or
microscope.  The weight ofthe whole was forty-four
ounces  ; they were put into  the vessel previously us-
ed  to boil their contents, along with three pounds of
distilled water,  and six drachms of caustic potass,
and the whole boiled for an hour, when the decoction
was separated from the solid parts,  by means of a
hair-sieve.  To procure every thing that  was soluble,
the solid parts were again boiled in  a pound  of distil-
led water, and  the decoction strained  was added to
that already obtained.  On cooling the decoction,  it
assumed a dirty, ropy appearance, and several pieces
of fat had formed on its surface, which were removed.
It was put on a gentle fire and brought to boil, and ni-
tric acid being gradually added to it to saturate the pot-
ass, the fluid assumed a clear yellow colour.  A consi-
derable quantity of fatty and mucous matter dissolved
by  the potass, was separted aud removed by the filter,
a few ounces of distilled water being poured over it to 
252             MINERAL POISONS.
 wash it.  It must here  be remarked,  that when tin-
 potass was added, there  was merely a soapy smell,
 but when the nitric acid was poured on,  a very disa-
 greeable  arsenical smell  was emitted.  It was now
 again put on a gentle fire  and neutralised with carbo-
 nate of potass, but so as to leave the acid slightly pre-
 dominant,  the fluid slightly reddening bitrum paper;
 for this purpose fourteen drachms of the salt were re-
 quired.  The decoction had now assumed  a darker
 colour, and after some more mucus was separated by
 filtration, it weighed  about fourteen ounces. It was
 again brought to boil,  and mixed with twenty-eight
 ounces of briskly prepared boiling  hot lime water in
 a glass cylinder.  The mixture became instantaneous-
 ly muddy, and a whitish grey deposit subsided.  The
 cylinder being allowed to remain  untouched for a
 night, in the morning a transparent fluid  was poured
 off, and the sediment being collected on a paper filter,
 was washed with distilled water and dried.  The
 precipitate when dried, had an ash grey colour, and
 weighed forty  grains ; as much pure boracic acid,
 and ten grains of pure carbon being added to it, they
 were carefully  triturated  together,  and the whole,
 weighing ninety grains,  were put into a small  thin
 glass retort, provided with a good lute, and exposed
 to an open charcoal fire  till the retort became red  hot.
 When cool,  the retort  was carefully removed from
 the furnace, and the lute being removed, it was brok-
 en.  In the bottom of it was a black loose  charcoal
 mass, consisting of boracic acid and carbon, weighing
 sixty  grains.  In the neck  of the retort, there  was
 deposited a real regnlus of arsenic in  the form  of a
whitish grey, somewhat granular metallic sublimate.
A piece of tine paper firmly rubbed on this sublimate,
had a dark grey spot formed on it, which, smoothed
with a polishing iron,  assumed a distinctly metallic
polish ; and on being  burnt, gave a  strong* arsenical
smell.   Part  of the sublimate boiled in a  sufficient
quantity  of distilled water  and filtered,  (whereby
some undissolved greyish particles remained on the
• 
MINERAL POISONS.
253
 filter) assumed, on the addition of a solution of ammo-
 niaretted copper, a yellowish green colour, and im-
 mediately deposited a beautiful yellowish green pre-
 cipitate, (Scheele's greeu.)   On breaking the retort,
 the small pieces  of glass on which  was some of the
 sublimate, were  collected together, and  a piece  of
 smooth paper wrapped in it and burnt at the candle,
 when a strong arsenical smell was produced, so as to
 oblige us to opeu the doors and windows.
   " The quantity of metallic arsenic contained in the
 sublimate, may be thus reckoned.   During the subli-
 mation, an empyreumatic fluid collected in the receiv-
 er, which did not redden bitrum  paper, nor did not
 alter  the solution of ammoniaretted copper, and conse-
 quently appeared to consist merely of water, which
 had been united with the powder, at a low tempera-
 ture.  The weight of this fluid was twenty-five grains,
 and this added to  sixty grains of residuum iu the re-
 tort,  makes  eighty-live  grains.  Further,  allowing
 that two grains of the iu other respects lire-proof bo-
 racic  acid,  might  be mechanically  covered  up with
 the moisture, we  have remaining at least three grains
 of metallic  arsenic  in the  sublimate.   Seeing that
 Proust aud Rose's manifold and repeated experiments
 coincide iu establishing that in 100 parts of  metallic
 arsenic, there are 333 of arsenic acid, (white  arsenic)
 it  follows  that three grains of metallic  arsenic are
 four of white arsenic ; and it may be  with certainty
 affirmed that these four grains of arsenic acid, actual-
 ly were present iu the viscera  examined  by us, aud
 were separated by us in a metallic form."*
  An i idotes.  It will not comport  with the object
 of this work to enlarge much on the present topic, but
it  is,  notwithstanding, proper briefly to  notice the
 most approved  mode of treatment.
  Our indications arc  three.   1.  To remove the poi-
 son.   2.  To  protect  the  stomach and intestines

 * Quart.  Journ. For. Med. and Surg. vol. 2, p. 103, copied from Rust's
Medical Magazine, a German periodical work. 
254              mineral POISo^^.
from its effects ; and 3.  If the patient survive long

enough, to diminish inflammation.
   The first is attempted by means of  an emetic, as

the sulphate of zinc ; but if vomiting be present, we

may  aid it by dilutents, or a vegetable  emetic.   Tar-

trite of antimony should never be given.

   But when vomiting does not take place immediate-

ly from the means just directed, the urgency of  the

case warrants us in using more  direct remedies.  Re-

nault recommends  that  the stomach be washed and

emptied mechanically,  by means of a large tube of

elastic  gum,  and a syringe.  In this way, a certain

quantity of liquid may be thrown in, to dilute or sus-

pend the poison, and by the action of the  syringe,  the

whole  may be again withdrawn.*   Mr.  Jukes,  of

London, has prepared  an apparatus on this princi-

ple, which has been applied successfully both to dogs

and the human subject-!
   The second indication may be effected  by means of

milk, lime water, soap, drinks sweetened with  sugar,

or honey.   Fat substances, as oil, butter, grease, &c.

are considered of doubtful  utility, and  indeed,  accor-

ding to Renault, they are  dangerous.   All  the ani-

mals to whom he gave the arsenious acid, in butter

or grease, died sooner than  if they had swallowed the

poison alone. ||
   1 place under this  class  the successful case  lately

published by Mr. Joseph Hume, where,  after the  vo-


  * Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 7, p. 91.
  ■f New-York Med. and Phys. Journal, vol.  1, p. 513.  It is certainly asto-
nishing that Mr. Jukes should claim this as an invention of his own, since
Renault evidently proposed it many years before him. The work of the
latter is reviewed in the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal  for 1811.
But even were not this so, we can still adduce a prior claim to the inven-
tion in question, for our own country. Dr.  Physick, of Philadelphia, pub-
lished a paper in 1812, in which he mentions that he successfully applied the
syringe to a child poisoned with laudanum, and  Dr. Dorsey afterwards
cured two individuals by the same treatment. That distinguished surgeon,
however, subsequently states that Dr. Alexander Munro, Jun. first suggest-
ed the invention in 1797, although he (Dr. Physick) was  ignorant of this
fact when he applied it practically.  I conceive Dr. Physick is entitled to
the honour of having been the first who saved life by its means. See Eclectic
Repertory, vol. 3, p. Ill and 381; and American Medical Recorder, vol.
6, p. 294.
   || Orfila, vol. 1, p. 151. 
MINERAL POISONS.              255
 miting had ended, and retchings and pain remained,
 he administered the carbonate of magnesia very free-
 ly, with tincture of opium, suspended  in water.   In
 five days the patient was  well.  One or two  cases
 have since been published, which evidently increase
 the character of this remedy.*
   3. Dr. Yelloly first suggested the propriety of treat-
 ing the secondary effects like a case of gastritis, and
 Dr. Roget adopted it  with success.   Several cases
 have since occurred, in which venesection,  blisters,
 &c. were used with the happiest consequences.!
   As to antidotes, strictly so called, we unfortunately
 have none.  The sulphuret  of potash had  once  a
 high reputation, but we shall hereafter show that this
 is itself a poison.  Renault tested its efficacy on ani-
 mals, and found that they died even  sooner when this
 pretended antidote was administered, than when they
 had taken the arsenious acid solely.J   Sulphuretted
 hydrogen was  rather more  successful,  but only when
 the poison was taken in a fluid, and  not in  a  solid
 form.   Sulphur has been suggested  on the principle
 of its uniting with the arsenic,  but even this has little
 effect.   Charcoal has been recommended,  in conse-
 quence of the experiments of Bertrand, and it would
 seem to have attained a partial  celebrity.  The  re-
 sults obtained by Orfila are, however,   destructive to
 its character, and I should  consider it very hazardous
 to depend on this substance. ||
  Dr.  Chisholm has lately mentioned that the juice
 of the sugar cane is the best antidote against arsenic,
 He states that it has been tried upon various animals
 in the West Indies, with complete success.^
  Medical police.  A substance so dangerous as ar-

  * Journal For. Science, vol. 2, p. 223, from the London Med. and Phy
Journal for Nov. 1821. Quart. Journ. For. Med. and Surg. vol. 5, p 304
  t See M'Leod, in Edin. Med. and Surg. Jour. vol. 15.  Davies, in Lond
Med. and Phys. Jour. vol. 28.
  X Edin. Med. and Surg and Surg. Jour.  vol. 7, p. 90.  Orfila, vol. 1,  p
 14,1D   . ,.    ,  II Ibid. vol. l,p.50O ; vol. 2, p. 470.
  <} Brande s Journal, vol. Iu, p. 193,   Edin. Med. ami Surg. Journal, vol.
 4. p. 410.  In the latter, cases are related of its efficacy. 
256              mineral poisons.
 senic, should certainly not be exposed for sale in so
 public a manner as it is at present.  Its uses are very
 confined, ;;ud except for one article of  medicine,  it is
 not required by the physician.  In this country, I am
 not aware that it is applied in the arts.   Why then
 should every apothecary and druggist  be allowed to
 vend it ? Certainly, amid the multiplicity of our laws,
 an act restricting its  sale would be a public blessing.
  The kins: of Prussia is said to have issued some im-
 portant regulations on this  subject in his dominions,
 but I regret that I have not  been  able to ascertain the
 particulars of them.* In France, the sale of arsenic is
 strictly guarded, and in England, a bill was pending
 before parliament in 1817, and which doubtless pass-
 ed, directing all apothecaries and others to affix a prin-
 ted label, with the word 'poison,' on every phial, box,
 or parcel into which they put white arsenic, corrosive
 sublimate;  acetate, carbonate, muriate or nitrate of
 barytes ;  oxalic acid, sugar of lead, prussic acid, tar-
 tar emetic,  solid opium,  or laudanum  sold by them.
 All arsenic kept for sale is  to be mixed with  carbon,
 and all oxalic acid with rose pink.!  Surely some or
 all of  these  provisions,  might be incorporated with
 advantage into our code of laws.
  I shall  notice the remaining compounds of  arsenic
 in as brief a  manner as possible, since few of them
 are ever used as the  instruments of murder.
  The  arsenites.    The alkaline arsenites  are  so-
 luble in water, and act as  violent poisons.  And
among them, that formed with potash  deserves par-
ticular attention, since it is the substance commonly
called liquor arsenicalis, or  Fowlkk's solution.   It
is not  neci »sary to notice its application in medicine,
but I  may add, that while practitioners in England
seem  to increase in their partiality for it,  and extend
its administration to  various  and opposite diseases,
the continental physicians speak discouragingly of its
utility.  Broussais, in France, declares, "that  al-

  * Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 9, p. W\  vol 13, n 143
  I Eclectic Rpporlnry, vol. 9, p. 561. 
MINERAL  POISONS.
257
most all the patients who have been cured of inter-
mittents by arsenical  preparations,  have died  some
months afterwards, either from phthisis pulmonalis,
or from chronic inflammation ofthe mucous membrane
of the stomach and intestines."*  At all events, there
can be no doubt but that it  should be used with cir-
cumspection, and not until other remedies have failed.
It is evidently capable of accumulating in the system,
and thus may predispose the patient to serious dis-
eases.!
   All the tests already mentioned, act on the arsenites
as on the arsenious acid, and the precipitates can be
reduced in the same manner. The muriate of platina,
however, which does not act on the latter, throws down
a yellow precipitate with the arsenite of potash.!
   Arsenic acid is to be considered as a more violent
and  rapid poison  than even arsenious acid.  This
was abundantly proved by the experiments of Brodie,
Jaeger and Campbell.  Its action is, however, similar.
   The operation of tests is somewhat different.  Or-
fila  observes,  that sulphuretted  hydrogen throws
down a whitish and  slightly yellow precipitate, but
Dr.  Gordon found  in his experiments, that it had no
effect on this acid.jf  Nitrate of silver throws down a
brick-red precipitate.   The sulphate of copper is not
disturbed by the arsenic  acid, but gives a blue  preci-
pitate with the arseniates.   This acid may also be re-
duced with the black flux, as also the arseniates.
   Sulphurets of  arsenic.   The  native sulphurets
(orpiment and realgar)  have  been  administered by
Hoffman  and Renault, to dogs  and  other animals,
without occasioning  the slightest derangement, but
when the latter administered the artificial sulphurets,

   * Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 9,  p. 351.         Jnnrnai
   t Paris' Pharmacol, p. 209.  Dr. Astbury (Edin. Med and Surg. Journal
 vol 15, p. 415,)  relates a case, where the solution of arsenic given as a
 medicine, produced vomiting, and in process of time, anasarcous swellings
 ofthe legs and thighs, and of the penis and scrotum. He supposes that a
torpor of the absorbents had been induced by its use. Eruptions, paralysis,
 and ptyalism have also been witnessed from it.
   X Orfila, vol. 1, p. 153.
   H Gordon, p. 37.
   VOL. II.                 33 
258
MINERAL POISONS,
even in doses of three or four grains, they produced
vomiting, purging,  and death, and on dissection, the
mucous membrane ofthe stomach  was found inflamed
and ulcerated.*
  It is an interesting question, why this  difference
exists.  By Thenard it has been suggested, that the
artificial sulphurets contain some oxygen, while none
is found in the native ones.  Analysis  has not, how-
ever, been able to detect it  in the former.
  In order to detect the metal, the sulphuret should
be dried and heated in a glass tube, with a little caus-
tic  potash.   Sulphuret of potash is produced,  and
metallic arsenic sublimes, coating the sides  of the
tube.!
  The black oxide of arsenic deserves attention, since
it is the basis of the fly powder,  which is much used
in  France and Germany  to destroy  animals,  and
hence  may often be the cause of accidental poisoning.
Renault,  in his experiments on dogs, found it quickly
mortal, and when it had acted sufficiently, it produced
in the  stomach an exudation of blood, and infiltration
ofthe  same between the coats of that viscus, without
any trace of erosion.|   Jaeger witnessed the death of
a girl, aged sixteen, who  was poisoned by  drinking
water  that had stood on it.  She made no complaint
of pain, and retained her senses to the last, asking for
every thing she wanted.  Nine hours after death, the
skin exhibited no change,  except  its paleness and a
few blue spots on it.   On dissection, a slight spotted
redness  was  found about  the cardia—the bottom of
the stomach was discoloured, and there was a small
brown spot, where the villous coat seemed as if super-
ficially burnt. ||  In several cases quoted  by Orfila,
the stomach was inflamed,  and red spots, with extra-
vasated blood, were present. §

  "Orfila, vol. 1, p. 155.  Dr. Smith has, however, shown that the natite
mlphtret, when applied to wounds, causes death. Ibid. vol. 2, p. 464
 t Ure ut antea.
 X Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 7, p. 90.
 |l Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 7, p. 80
 § Orfila, vol. l,p. 160. 
MINERAL POISONS.
259
   Arsenical hydrogen gas. This substance has prov-
 ed fatal to a distinguished chemist, the late Mr. Geh-
 len, of Munich.  He was distilling a mixture of ar-
 senic in powder and caustic potash, in order to ob-
 serve the  action of the latter on the former.  Finding
 that the combination was  taking  place very  slowly,
 he applied  his  nostrils  several  times to. the flask
 which contained the mixture, in order to ascertain by
 the odour the state of the mixture.   About au hour
 afterwards, he was seized with uninterrupted vomit-
 ing, rigor,  and  excessive prostration  of strength ;
 these symptoms  continued for nine  days, when he
 died, although every effort was made for his relief.*
   It has  been suggested, that this gas, on being in-
 spired, is decomposed in  the lungs,  the hydrogen
 uniting with the carbonic  acid, while  the arsenic is
 deposited in the bronchise.!
   Arsenic in its metallic state  oxidizes so readily,
 that it would be extremely hazardous to pronounce it
 innoxious. Renault has, however, given two drachms
 of mispickel (an alloy of arsenic and iron) to animals,
 without any injurious effects.  This fact gives us  the
 assurance  that the arsenic which  is sometimes con-
 tained in  tin, need not to be feared,  as  it is in the
 metallic state.f

                     MERCURY.
                  CORROSIVE SUBLIMATE.

   This substance, like arsenic, is  poisonous, whether
 internally or  externally  exhibited  ;  but a larger
 quantity is required to produce deleterious effects.
   Internally,   (a) Its  exhibition  by  the  mouth.
 If corrosive sublimate  be exhibited in considerable
doses, and especially if its use is  too long continued,
it causes colic and vomiting.  These  are succeeded
by affections of the salivary glands, ptyalism,  swell-

 * Male, p. 176.
 t London Med. Repos. vol. 4, p. 431.  Brande's Journal vol. 3, p. 208
 J Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 7, p. 90. 
260
MINERAL poisons.
ing ofthe tongue and gums,  destruction of the teeth,
and swelling of the face and head. Cardialgia, diarr-
hoea, dysentery, phthisis pulmonalis, tremors of the
limbs, paralysis, or even death, have been t-e conse-
quence of persisting in such a course for an improper
space of time.*
   Dreadful as this catalogue of ill* may appear, it is
usually aggravated when we are called to  view a pa-
tient  poisoned by this  mineral;  The dose is then
larger, and the effects are more immediate. We may
state the ordinary symptoms  in such cases to be the
following: " An  acrid, astringent, metallic  taste in
the mouth ; a sensation  of stricture and burning heat
in the throat;  anxiety, and rending pains  in  the sto-
mach, and in the  whole of the intestinal canal; nau-
sea, frequent vomiting of a fluid,  which is sometimes
bloody, and acco•npanied with violent efforts ;  diarr-
hoea, sometimes dysentery;  pulse  small, tight  and
frequent;  faintuess, general  debility, difficulty of
breathing, cold  sweats, cramps in all the limbs, ge-
neral insensibility, convulsions and death."!
   In addition to these,  it lias  been  noticed by some
observers  that there is a great diminution  in the se-
cretion of urine.   Dr. Henry of Manchester, in a
case  where death followed  in four  days, remarked
that no urine was voided after  the third day, and on
introducing the  catheter, the bladder was found emp-
ty.J   In the cases related by Mr. Valentine, where
a mother  poisoned  herself,   and  four children, the
same observation  was  made.   One  child  died in
twelve hours after taking the poison, and  during this
period,  no urine  was secreted;  another  in twenty-
four  hours, and voided a very small quantity.   The
third died in thirty-one hours  and secreted none,
while the mother,  who lived seventy hours,  only
passed a very little."||

  * Orfila, vol. 1, p. 47.         f Ibid. vol. 1, p. 60.
  t Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 7, p. 151.
  || Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal,  vol. 14, p. 468. The only one (a
ehild) that recovered, in consequence of having taken a smaller quantity,
voided no urine in three days. 
MINERAL POISONS.              261
   It must also be remarked, that the pain  and stric-
ture in the pharynx and cesophagus, are sometimes so
severe as to cause the greatest distress in swallowing
even the mildest fluids, and in one instance, they were
so excessive, as for some hours  to destroy the power
of speech.*  Bloody vomiting is not uucommon, and
coagulable lymph has  been  found  in the  matter
purged, mixed with clots of blood.!   In fatal cases,
the pain at the scrobiculus cordis continues without
intermission, and in those who  recover, it  is amoug
the last symptoms that disappear.    In Dr. Henry's
patient, a complete paralysis of  the upper and lower
extremities occurred a few hours before death.
   (b)  By injection into the anus.  We have reason
to believe, from the result of experiments on animals,
that the effects ofthe poisou administered in this way
would be  similar to the former.  The only case on
record, that I  have noticed,  is a complex one ; from
the  extraordinary  combination  of poisons given to
destroy life.   As however,  the corrosive sublimate
appears to have been the immediate agent of death, I
shall mention it in this place.
   Sir Thomas Overbury, was poisoned in the year
1613, in the  Tower of London, at the instigation of
the  Earl  and  Countess  of Somerset.    The agents
were punished, but the  principals escaped.   From
the confession of Franklin the apothecary, it appears,
that the  Countess wished to procure  the  strongest
possible poisons  for Sir Thomas.   He accordingly
bought seven,  aqua fortis, white arsenic,  mercury,
powder of diamonds, lapis costitus, great spiders and
cantharides.   All these were gi\en at different times.
Sir Thomas never eat white salt but there was arse-
nic put into it, and Mrs. Turner,  when two partridges

  * Case by Mr. Anderson, Edinburgh Med and Surg. Journal, vol. 14, p.
474.  On the contrary, a case is related by Mr. Saunders, where the patient
lived nine days, and during that period experienced little pain, and only
felt some soreness after the sixth day. Hiccup was present during part of his
illness.  London Med. Repository, vol. 2, p. 458.
  t Valentini ut antra.  In two of  these  cases, coma  and insensibility of
the pupils were present for some time before death. 
262             MINERAL POISONS.
 were sent to him, and  water and onions were the
 sauce, put in cantharides, instead of pepper.   Indeed
 said Franklin, he seldom eat any thing, in which there
 was not poison.
   Richard Weston, while acting as keeper to Over-
 bury, procured a poison of a green and yellow colour
 (rosalgar) and mixed it with his broth.  He procured
 white arsenic and mixed it with the food, and in ad-
 dition, mingled some corrosive sublimate, in tarts and
jellies.   The sublimate was also dissolved in a clyster
 and administered to the prisoner.   This produced,
 according to  the confession of Weston, sixty stools,
 together with vomiting.   Sir Thomas died the next
 day.*
   Externally.  Applied  to a wound or ulcer, or
 to  the skin-  Orfila quotes several cases, illustrat-
 ing the dangerous and indeed fatal effects of this mode
 of application.  I shall only  cite one, from  Pibrac.
 "A strong robust woman, aged forty-nine years,  of a
 good temperament, having an  ulcerated cancer ofthe
 breast, was entrusted to the care of an empiric,  who
 employed upon her, his white  powder, externally ap-
 plied.  It was corrosive sublimate.  The patient was
 in great pain  after the application ; the pains of the
 cancer greatly increased,  and in the space of a few
 hours became intolerable.   A  crowd of accidents oc-
 curred at once; oppression, nausea, vomitings, which
 extended  even to blood, and  convulsive motions the
 most violent.  In fine,  she  suffered in every  part of
 her body, a dreadful torture, from which she was not
 delivered till the next morning by a horrible death.!"
  A solution of corrosive sublimate in alkohol,  ap-
 plied to the  skin, has produced within a few hours,
 violent pains of the stomach, accompanied with sick-
 ness, vomiting, and diarrhea.  The debility that fol-
 lows is of the most alarming kind.  In one instance,
 the stools consisted of blood and mucus, and it is evi-
 dent, that if the  use of this noxious  substance had

  * Hargrave's State Trials, vol. 1, p. 323,345
  1 Orfila, vol. 1, p. 59. 
MINERAL POISONS.
263
been continued, fatal consequences would have ensu-
ed.  Salivation seems to be a constant effect from this
mode of application.*
   Appearances on dissection.   After an examination
of the experiments that have been made on  animals
as well as of cases of poisoning,  Orfila  comes to the
conclusion, that it is impossible in the present state of
science to point out with precision, " the seat, extent
and character of the lesion produced by corrosive sub-
limate," and  the main argument in favour of this
opinion seems  to be the fact,  that similar effects are
produced by  other  corrosive poisons.   But although
this may be allowed as a correct position, yet  it is
still necessary to point out the appearances that have
been noticed.    If they are  common  to other substan-
ces,  we shall only have the disadvantage of repeti-
tion.
   I shall merely notice the results ascertained in in-
dividual cases.  Fodere mentions some dissections,
in which various  parts of the stomach and intestines
were found inflamed or gangrenous.   In one instance,
the villous coat of the  stomach was destroyed.!
   In the case of Dr. Henry, already quoted, the ex-
ternal appearance of the stomach and intestines was
perfectly natural.  About two ounces of a thick yel-
lowish ropy fluid were found in the stomach, which
was but moderately distended with air.   On its in-
ner surface,  numerous dark red spots,  indicating in-
flammation of  the villous coat,  were  observable.
They extended through the whole length of the smal-
ler curvature and  occupied the  greater part of the
fundus, but did not appear in the lower portion of the
large curvature.  No abrasion of the villous coat was
perceptible.   The inner coat of the  duodenum, as far

   *• Cases of this nature are related by Dr. Anderson (Edin. Med. and Surg.
Journal,  vol. 7, p. 437,) and Mr. Robertson  (ditto, vol. 8, p 195,) and by
Dr. Cloquet of himself, communicated to Orfila, (vol. 2, p, 462.)  In this
latter, vomiting, gripings aud tenesmus were  induced, barely from plung-
ing his hands several times in  a concentrated solution,  for the purpose of
taking out some  anatomical  preparations, and neglecting afterwards to
 wash them.
   t Fodere, Vol. 4, p. 151 
264
MINERAL POISONS.
 as the middle of its length, presented  the same ap-
 pearance of inflammation.  The lower part of the
 oesophagus, for about three inches above the cardia,
 was slightly inflamed, but higher up, it was of a natu-
 ral colour.  The heart,  lungs, liver, and spleen were
 sound.   The  gall-bladder was emptier than usual.
 The left kidney was of a looser texture than  natural,
 and a small abscess was discovered in it, filled with
 pus.   The bladder was empty and exceedingly con-
 tracted.
  In  each of  the four cases,  of Mr. Valentine, he
 found the stomach greatly diseased.  Black  circular
 patches, about three inches in  diameter, were observ-
 ed, and from them an extensive inflammation of  the
 inner coat diverged in all directions.   " In the child
 which  died first, the texture  was totally destroyed
 through all the coats, as far as the  circular patch ex-
 tended, and on washing off the destroyed parts, only
 the peritoneal  covering of that part of the organ was
 left. It cannot be better compared," he observes, " than
 to a piece of leather burnt with  a red hot  coal."  The
 intestines were highly inflamed.   The  gall-bladder
 in every  case was greatly distended with bile.  The
 peritoneum generally inflamed, as were also the me-
 sentery and omentum.  In one instance, the kidneys
were inflamed.   In all, the urinary bladder was much
 contracted ;  in the mother, it was ofthe size of a wal-
nut, and in one ofthe children, no larger than a  mar-
 ble.
  The bodies externally were of a crimson  colour,
 posteriorly, on the shoulders, back and hips.
  In the case related by Mr. Saunders, the stomach
 generally was inflamed, and its cavity was lined with
 a considerable quantity of viscid and glutinous  mucus,
but there was nothing like corrosion  or sphacelus.
 The liver, spleen and other viscera were not unheal-
 thy.*
  Effect on animals.   The experiments of Mr. Bro
* London Med. Repositby, vol. 2, p. 458 
MINERAL POISONS.
265
 die are among the most satisfactory of any that have
 been made, and they correspond in most particulars
 with the results observed on the human subject.
   He injected into the stomach of a rabbit,  by means
 of an elastic gum tube, six grains of corrosive subli-
 mate, dissolved in  six drachms of distilled  water.
 No immediate symptoms followed the injection ; the
 animal made no expression of pain, but in three min-
 utes he became insensible, was convulsed,  and in
 four minutes and a half from the  time of the injec-
 tion being made, he died.   On opening the  thorax,
 the heart was  found to have entirely ceased acting,
 and the blood in the cavities of the left side was of a
 scarlet colour.  The stomach  was much distended.
 The  pyloric  and cardiac  portions wTere  seperated
 from  each other by a strong muscular  contraction,
 which appeared to have preveuted the passage of the
 fluid from the upper to the lower part, since the con-
 tents of the pyloric portion  were firm and solid, and
 in every respect resembled  the usual contents of the
 stomach, while those of the cardiac portion consisted
 of the food of the animal much diluted with fluid.  In
 the pyloric portion  also, the mucous  membrane had
 its natural  appearance, but in the  cardiac portion, it
 was of a dark grey colour, readily torn and peel-
 ed oft', and in some parts its texture was completely
 destroyed,  so  that it appeared like  a pulp, on remov-
 ing which,  the muscular and peritoneal parts were ex-
posed.  A similar experiment, with a scruple of cor-
rosive sublimate, on a cat, produced death in twenty-
five minutes, and on  dissection, the  texture of the
 stomach was found destroyed  as  in  the preceding
case,  the mucuous coat tore  and separated from the
muscular with great facility, and the upper  part of
the duodenum was similarly altered, although not in
so marked a manner.
  The same experiments were  now performed on a
dead rabbit and cat,  and precisely the same appear-
ances were found on dissection, except  that as the
    VOL. II,              34 
266             MINERAL POISONS.
middle contraction was wanting,  the disorganization
was not confined to the cardiac portion.
  The conclusion drawn hy Mr. Brodie is the follow-
ing :   " Corrosive sublimate, when taken internally
in large quantities, occasions death by acting chemi-
cally on the mucous membrane of the stomach, so as
to destroy its texture ;  the organs more immediately
necessary to life being affected in consequence of their
sympathy with the stomach."*   He also denies the
idea of the absorption of  the poison in these cases.
This, however, is  believed by many physiologists,
and at all  events  is far from  being a settled  ques-
tion.!
  Corrosive sublimate has been considered as nearly
innoxious to horses, and has been given in doses of
several drachms without  producing any apparent ef-
fects.   An instance is however related by Dr. Reeve,
where two  ounces produced death  in eight hours, and
previous  to this, there was a copious  discharge of
urine and foeces.   On dissection no inflammation was
observed in the  coats of the stomach ; the intestines
however, were flabby and  tender, and  putridity had
far  advanced in  them.  The liver and kidnies were
in a putrid state.J
  In several  experiments  made by Dr. Bostock and
others on  dogs, with  small  doses of  this  mineral,
vomiting and purging, with symptoms of violent pain,
ensued, and  after some hours  they terminated in
death.  In one case on dissection, the peritoneal coat
of the stomach was found inflamed, and the vessels of
its  internal surface were injected, so as to present a
general redness ;  but there was a very slight corru-
gation of the coats, and no  erosion ;  but in another
instance, where the dose had been larger,  the villous
coat was much corrugated and inflamed, and on that
part of it which  lines the small curvature, there was
much blackness, which had the appearance  of blood
extravasated between the coats.  On cutting however

  * Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 7, p. 462.
  t See Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 11, p. 126.
  X Ibid. vol. 5. p. 254. 
MINERAL POISONS.
267
  through the villous coat, there was no extravasation.*
  The quantity in these and  similar cases will doubt-
  less produce a variety in the appearances.
     Chemical proofs.   There is some difference among
  chemists, as  to the precise solubility of corrosive sub-
  limate ;  but we shall probably be correct in stating,
  that from sixteen to twenty parts of distilled  water
  will dissolve one part.   And this fact should be re-
  membered,  as it will prevent an unnecessary addi-
  tion of fluid.
     The tests  suggested for the detection of this miner-
  al  are numerous,  some being applicable to the sus-
  pected substance,  when in a solid, and others when
  in a fluid state.
     (a) If a powder is  collected, and is supposed to
  be corrosive sublimate, add charcoal and a little wa-
  ter to it, and thus make a paste.   If this be submitted
   to the action of heat, in a close vessel, metallic mer-
   cury is  obtained from the decomposition of the salt.
      (b) If corrosive sublimate  be let  fall in  minute
   fragments into a tube of glass, the bottom of which
   contains a little  pure caustic potash,  melted by heat,
   one portion of the salt rises in the form of smoke to
   condense itself on the sides ofthe tube; while anoth-
   er portion sinks down  and takes a red colour.   If the
   heat  be continued for five or  six  minutes,  metallic
   mercury, in the  form of globules, is obtained, adher-
\  ing to the sides of the tube, and mixed with the corro-
 * sive sublimate that  is not decomposed.  If the quan-
   tity be small and difficult of detection, dissolve the re-
   mainder of the salt, and the globules  will be precipit-
   ated.
      (c) Expose a small quantity of the powder without
   any admixture, to heat,  in a coated tube, corrosive
    sublimate will be ascertained  by its rising to the top
   of the tube, lining  the inner surface in the form of a
    shining white crust, and with  its  peculiar crystalline
    form.   These last, if necessary, should be examined
    with the microscope.
* Bostock's Vindication, p. 28 
268
MINERAL  POISONS.
   (AJt If this sublimate be thrown on burning coals,
it  immediately  volatilizes, giving out a thick  white
smoke, and a pungent smell, not a tall resembling gar-
lic, and which when inhaled, often produces irritation
and coughing.   If a plate of perfectly clean copper,
be exposed to this smoke, it becomes tarnished, and
receives, by a slight friction, that white and glittering
colour which characterises mercury.
   (e) The  solution of corrosive  sublimate reddens
litmus paper, but changes syrup of violets, to a green.
   ff) Lime water in  small quantity precipitates the
solution, of an orange yellow colour, but if increased,
the precipitate  becomes- red.   In still greater quan-
tity, " the  precipitate is transformed into an oxide at
maximum of a beautiful yellow."
   (g) A solution of  saturated  carbonate of potash
(salt of tartar)  produces  a deep brick coloured pre-
cipitate.*   Carbonate of soda has the same effect.
   (h) The caustic  alcoholished potash,  poured in
small  quantity on a saturated solution,  forms  a yel-
lowish red precipitate, but if on the contrary the pot-
ash in excess be poured on it* the precipitate will be
a beautiful yellow.  The precipitate, both in this ex-
periment and in experiment g, on being dried and
exposed  to heat in a glass tube, will give out metallic
mercury.
   If, however, the solution of corrosive sublimate is
very  much diluted,  the  caustic potash  will  throw
down a white precipitate.
   (i) A solution of pure ammonia produces a per-
manent white  precipitate.   On the  application  of
heat, it becomes yellow.
   (k) The hydrosulphuret  of ammonia, in  small
quantity, gives a dark precipitate mixed with grey
and white, but a larger quantity produces a black one.

 * Dr. Henry states, that a white precipitate is produced by the addition
of a single drop of the solution in question.  Orfila denies this, observing
that " the precipitate never begins by appearing white, at least if the solu-
tion ofthe sublimate be considerably diluted."  Dr. Henry, however, adds
at the same time, that if an additional quantity of alkali be applied, an
orange coloured sediment will be produced, (Henry, vol. 2, p. 274.  Or
fila, vol. 1, p. 30.) 
MINERAL POISONS.              269
 Sulphuretted hydrogen and sulphuretted water,  also
 throw down a similar precipitate.  This is so minute
 a test,  that Professor Pfaff, of Kiel, is said to have
 discovered the presence of corrosive sublimate, though
 diluted with forty thousand times its bulk of water.*
   (IJ Nitrate of silver throws down the white curdy-
 precipitate, characteristic of muriatic acid.
   fm) The muriate of tin gives a white  precipitate
 with corrosive sublimate.  This is also an extreme-
 ly minute test.  Dr. Bostock says, that two drops of the
 muriate,  added to a solution which  contained -j^V^n?
 of  its weight  of the sublimate, caused an  obvious
 precipitate.  When diluted so that the fluid held only
 -y.Trffff o off  0I> i's weight of the salt, two drops produced
 an  immediate grey cloud,  but no precipitate  was
 thrown down.!
   (n)  The triple prussiate of potash, gives a white
 precipitate, which iu a short time  becomes  yellow,
 and afterwards  passes  into a clear Prussian  blue.
 All these changes of colour are generally produced
 within thirty-six hours.
   (o) If a perfectly clean plate of copper be plung-
 ed  iuto a solution of corrosive  sublimate, and  left
 there for  an hour  or two,  it will become  tarnished,
 but on rubbing it with a piece of paper, it assumes a
 white, shining  and silvery appearance,  owing to a
 coating of metallic mercury.  The same effect will be
 produced if the corrosive sublimate be dropped on it,
 or if any of the precipitates obtained iu experiments
/, g, h, i,  and n,  be rubbed over it.   This effect is
 now  explained as a galvanic action, and a  piece of
 gold clasped by a zinc wire and  immersed in the sub-
 limate solution,  was obviously  whitened in an hour,
 although the solution iu question only contained ¥T^5
 of its weight ofthe salt.!
  (p) Mr. Sylvester has proposed another ingenious
 application of galvanic electricity.  " A piece of zinc

  * Annals, vol. 5, p. 22.
  t Edin. Med. and Surg. Journal,  voL 5, p. 14.
  X Bostock, Edin. Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 5, p. 14. The above test-:
 are all taken from Orfila and Henry. 
270
MINERAL POISONS.
or iron wire,  about  three  inches in length, is to be
twice bent at  right angles, so  as  to resemble the
Greek letter n, the two legs of this figure shonld be
distant about the diameter of a common gold wedding
ring from each other,  and the two ends of the bent
wire must afterwards be tied to a ring of this descrip-
tion.  Let a plate of glass, not less than three inches
square, be laid as nearly horizontal as possible,  and
on one side drop some sulphuric acid diluted  with
about six times its weight of water,  till it spreads to
the size of a half penny.   At a little distance from
this,  towards  the other side,  next drop some of the
solution supposed to contain corrosive sublimate, till
the edges of the two liquids join togetlier ; and let
the wire and ring, prepared as above, be laid in such
a way that the wire may touch  the acid, while the
gold ring is in contact with  the suspected liquid.  If
the minutest quantity of corrosive sublimate be pres-
ent, the ring in a few  minutes will be covered with
mercury on the part  which touched the fluid."*
   (q) Brugnatelli has proposed the following meth-
od  : " Take a quantity of fresh wheat-starch mixed
with water, and add a sufficient quantity  of iodine to
give the liquid a blue colour ; if corrosive sublimate
be  added to  this liquor, the colour is destroyed and
it becomes reddish,  and sulphuric acid will  not re-
store it, as is the case when arsenic is added."!
   The next point of importance is, whether any sub-
stances which by possibility may be present in the
stomach, or any of the human fluids, will change the
nature of the substance, or will alter the operation of
the above tests ?  Orfila has made this the subject of
notice.
   Corrosive  sublimate, according to him, is decom-
posed sooner or later, and converted into the sub-mu-
riate, by most  vegetable substances, distilled waters,
extracts, oils,  syrups, honey, and gums.  Muriatic

  * Eclectic Repository, vol. 4, p. 452, from Nicholson's Journal, No. 154
  t Annals, vol. 10, p. 151. 
MINERAL POISONS.
271
acid gas is set at liberty, and calomel will be precipi-
tated,  with a portion of the vegetable  matter which
has  undergone some  change.   A  decoction of tea
throws down instantly  a  yellowish grey precipitate
in flakes, which becomes pulverulent, and of a violet
colour by desiccation, while  at the same time,  if the
water be much loaded with sugar, no alteration takes
place till after  several  days ; and  alcohol  produces
no effect for the space of three or four months.   The
action of albumen on a solution of corrosive sublimate,
deserves particular notice.   If a considerable quan-
tity  of the latter is poured on  the  former,  a  white
flaky precipitate is formed,  which, on being dried, is
brittle, semi-transparent, of a yellowish colour, aud
insoluble in water.   On being submitted to  heat in a
glass tube, the products are principally  charcoal, me-
tallic mercury volatilized and adhering  to the sides of
the tube, and muriatic acid.  Small  quantities of cor-
rosive  sublimate produce milkiness,  and the slow de-
position  of a precipitate.   Gelatine causes similar
change and decomposition, as albumen.  Osmazome
gives a reddish yellow precipitate, and  bile a yellow
one, inclining to red. A concentrated solution of cor-
rosive  sublimate brought  in contact  with a large
quantity of milk, produced no visible change, but
when seven parts of the solution and  one  of  milk
were united,  a  white coagulum instantly  formed,
which collected together, and over  it floated a liquor
extremely clear.  Ordinary soup mixed with it in the
proportion of one to  six, produced a white precipitate.
Fibrin or flesh, on being immersed  in  a  solution of
corrosive sublimate, loses its solidity,  and becomes
friable.
  It appears thus, that many common substances will
decompose the corrosive sublimate, and  convert it into
the sub-muriate.
  The following  is  the  result  of the application of
tests to some mixtures :*
* Orfila, vol. 1, p. 37 to 46. 
272              MINERAL POISONS.
Substances employed.	Corr. sub. xij. gr. in water, Burgundy wine <5oz.	Corr. sub. sol. 1 dr. Milk 14 dr.	Ordinary soup, with a small quant. sot. corr. sub	Bile 1 dr. corr. sub. 1 gr. dissolved in 1 oz. water.
Etfect of these mixtures on each other.	No effect.	Sky-blue colour.	Slightly turbid, no precip.	
Tests. Potash.	Black precip.	Yellow.	White or, grey precip.	No precip.
Ammonia.	Deep green.		Same as corr sub. alone.	No precip.
				
Prussiate of potash.	White, going to violet.	Passing to blue.	Same as corr. sub. alone.	
Syrup of violets.	Red.	Blackish grey.	Same as corr. sub. alone.	
Hydro-sulphurets.	Same as corr. sub. alone.	Black.	Same as corr. sub. alone.	A precip.
Plate of copper.	Same as corr. sub. alone.	Same as corr. sub. alone.	Same as corr. sub. alone.	
Nitrate of silver.			Same as corr. sub. alone.	
				
Lime-water.			Dirty white precip.	A precip.
  The practical advice to be  drawn  from these re-
sults is, the importance of depending upon the reduc-
tion of the metal, as the only infallible proof.   If the
suspected substance be in a fluid  state, the tests as
previously  mentioned, should be  applied, and the
precipitates should then be dried, evaporated and re-
duced.   Orfila  recommends  that a small portion of
potash be added to the solution, as this will prevent
the volatilization of a portion  of the sublimate.  Let
this  be evaporated to dryness, then detach the dry 
MINERAL  POISONS.
273
 residue and put it in a small glass tube  as already
 described and  gradually heat to redness.   Metallic
 mercury in globules will be quickly obtained. *
   The same process is proper  when the suspected
 substan ;e is in a state of solidity.    Potash should
 also be  added when the reduction is attempted.   But
 if the quantity of the salt is extremely small, it will
 be better first  to make a solution  of the  whole and
 then proceed as before.f   But it is possible that the
 corrosive sublimate  may have been decomposed  in
 the stomach, and the submuriate or calomel alone re-
 mains.   How are we then to act ?
   Two  of the most striking characteristics of calomel
 are, its  insolubility in water  aud  the black colour
 which it contracts from the addition of lime water..
 Orfila has however found, that the decomposed preci-
 pitate obtained from mixtures of corrosive sublimate
 with bread,   boiled  beans  and soup,  underwent  no
 change, although it  lay in lime water for twenty-four
 hours.   In another instance, a  paste made of whites
 of eggs, meat, soup, roasted apples, tea, sugar and
 sublimate, furnished a greyish white substance which
 was carefully washed,  and lime water though left ou
 it for forty-eight hours, produced only a slight change
 of colour,  causing  it to become somewhat  deeper.
 Corrosive sublimate, it thus appears, forms so strong
 a union  with alimentary substances, that lime water
 cannot decompose it.  It only  remains to add potash
 to the precipitate,  introduce the mixture into a glass
 tube  aud apply heat.    Mercurial  globules  will be
 produced from the process.I

  * When corrosive sublimate is mixed with wine, or any other coloured
fluid, Orfila proposes that sulphuric ether be added to the solution in  a phial,
and the contents slowly agitated. The ether will  abstract the greater part
ofthe sublimate from the water, as there is a greater affinity between the
former and the sublimate,  than between the sublimate and the water.
The strata must be allowed to  separate, and the upper one, (being the
ether) should then be poured off.  Evaporate the fluid and the sublimate
remains in a pure  and solid state.  Quarterly Journal Foreign Med. and
 Surg. vol. 3, p. 246.
  t Orfila, vol. 1, p. 64,65-
  Ubid. vol. 1. p. 69, 70.
    vol. n.              35 
274
MINERAL  POISONS.
  But it may be asked, whether a salt so soluble and
go easily decomposed, is always to be found, either in
a  solid  or fluid state, in the stomach or intestines ?
Or in other words, can an individual be destroyed by
this poison, and yet the  nicest tests  not be able to
detect any portion of it after death ?   The results of
modern  investigation are decidedly in favor of the af-
firmative of this question.   In the experiments of Dr.
Bostock on dogs, the very  tests which  proved the
presence of corrosive  subliniate in  the most minute
quantity, were unable  to shew  its  presence in the
fluids  ofthe animals which he  had previously pois-
oned with this  very substance, and they only indica-
ted the existence of muriatic acid.*   Dr.  Henry and
Dr. Roget examined the fluid  vomited by a female
who had poisoned herself, with  all the tests mention-
ed in the chemical work of the former, but neither in
this liquid,  nor in that found  in the  stomach  after
death, were any traces ofthe poison  discoverable.!
" In vain, (says Orfila) should we seek, in the gener-
al way, for corrosive sublimate in the liquids vomited;
neither are the  contents of  the stomach more calcula-
ted to  discover its presence. '   The  decomposition
which it  has  undergone by its union with other sub-
stances, has rendered it insoluble. It is in the solids,
in the  tissue itself of our  organs, that  it must be
sought for."   In confirmation of the  latter remark,
he mentions a case, in which he took a portion  ofthe
intestines of a cock, and put it in a solution of corro-
sive sublimate for three days.    It was then boiled,
then dried in a capsule of  porcelain, and  finally cal-
cined in a  retort.   Globules of mercury  were  soon
seen condensed in its neck.  The stomach of a dead
rabbit, into which a solution of corrosive sublimate
had been injected, was treated in the same way, with
a similar result.!

 * Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journ. vol. 5, p. ]fi.
 t Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journ. vol. 7, p. 150.
 X Orfila, vol. 1, p. 73. " II est extraordinairement  rare qu'il se recontre
assez de cette substance pour la soumettre aux rccherches chymiques "
Metzger, p. 396.                                J   n 
MINERAL POISONS.
275
    1 am not aware of any trials for poisoning with cor-
 rosive  suhlimate, of  great interest, beyond those al-
 ready  noticed.   There is  a  case  mentioned  in  the
 Edin. Med. and Surg. Journal,  where  the mineral
 was mixed  with some dumplings,  for the purpose of
 murder,  and in  them  it was readily discovered by
 Professor Wollaston of Cambridge.*
   Antidotes.   Alkaline salts and  earths were  for-
 merly in high  repute,  as antidotes against corrosive
 suhlimate,  and cases are to be found in medical jour-
 nals where they would seem to have cured the  suffer-
 ers, f  They have also failed, and the same remark
 will apply to the sulphurets, the infusion  of Peruvian
 bark, and sugar.
   We are therefore  infinitely indebted to Orfila  for
 introducing albumen as an  antidote to this substance.
 If takeu in  sufficient  quantity, it  decomposes the me-
 tallic salt,  forming a  triple  compound, consisting of
 albumen,  muriatic acid, and calomel.   Our  author
 proved  its efficacy in several experiments  on animals.
 " It  has the advantage of being always at hand, and
 there is no danger of giving it to excess.   The prac-
 tical rule, therefore, is, that as soon as we are  called to
 a  person suspected of  having taken corrosive  subli-

  * Trial of Michael Whiting for administering poison to George and Jo-
 seph Langman, at the assizes,  holden at Ely, in 1812. Edin. Med. and
 Surg. Journal, vol. 8, p. 348.   Dr. Smith, in his work, refers to the trial of
 Miss Butterfield for poisoning Mr. Scavven, which I have not been able to
 obtain.  He observes, that in this case, the question was somewhat agita-
 ted, whether salivation excited by mercury is ever renewed, after having
 once  ceased, without the administration of the mineral  being repeated.
 Such an instance occurred to Dr. Male,  and he adds the follow ing on his
 own authority: " Dr. Hamilton, professor of midwifery in the university
 of  Edinburgh, related a  case in his lectures, of a married lady, who had
 been under the necessity of going through a course of mercury, in conse-
 quence of her husband's imprudence, under the care of the late Mr. Ben-
 net. This gentleman, from motives of delicacy, did not enquire very mi-
 nutely into the particulars, but according to the rule of the day, gave his
patient a sore mouth.  Four months afterwards, she miscarried, and saliva-
 tion again came on. It was removed for a week,  at the end of which
it returned, and harassed her for about a twelvemonth." Smith, p. 114.
  t See a case in the  Edin. Med. Essays, vol. 6, p. 432, from the Commerc
Korimb, 1735, where  the  01. tartar per deliquium, and mild drinks, appear
to have been the principal agents in effecting a cure.  The salt of tartar
and salt of wormwood, have each been recommended.  Med. Comment^
ries, vol. 6, p. 324, 416. 
276
MINERAL POISONS.
mate, we should make him swallow as many whites
of eggs, well mixed with water, as  the stomach can
contain.  It will immediately decompose the metallic
salt remaining  in the stomach, and if it excite fresh
vomiting,  so much  the better.    Along with  this,
blood letting may be had recourse to, in  order to over-
come the inflammation already  excited."*   Mucila-
ginous  drinks are also very useful as accessary  rem-
edies, f
  Dr.  Taddei,  of Italy,  has  lately  recommended
wheat flour, or gluten,  as an antidote.  He was led
to  this, from ascertaining that  it reduced corrosive
sublimate to the state of calomel, and that considera-
ble  quantities of a mixture of  flour  or gluten  with
corrosive sublimate,  might be taken by animals with-
out  any  injurious  effects.   In this way, fourteen
grains of sublimate  were given  in less than  twelve
hours to rabbits and poultry without injury, whereas
a single grain would have been fatal if taken alone.
Twenty-five grains of fresh, or thirteen of dry gluten,
or from five to six hundred  grains of wheaten flour,
are necessary to render a grain of corrosive sublimate
innocent, and Dr.  Taddei  recommends  that dried
gluten he kept for the purpose in question in apothe-
caries' shops.   When administered,  it is only neces-
sary to mix it with a little water.$
  THE RED PI'ECIPITATE AND  THE RED  OXIDE OF
mercury.   These substances, in considerable quan-
tities, are violent poisons.  Ploucquet mentions a case
of an individual, who, by accident,  swallowed some
red precipitate.   He immediately experienced violent
colics, copious vomitings, a trembling in all his limbs,
and cold sweats.

 * Edin. Med. and Surg. Journal, vol.  11, p. 132.  Dr. Peschier of Geneva,
has ascertained that it requires an ounce of whites of eggs,  to neutralize
four grains of corrosive sublimate, taken as a poison.  London Med. Re-
pository, vol. 6, p. 167.
 t A case in which the whites of eggs were given with perfect success, if
related by Dr. Lendnck, in the transactions of the college of physicians o'f
Dublin.  London Med. Repository, vol. 16, p. 495.  See also another case,
in Ibid, vol 13, p. 480.
 t Edin. Philos. Jour. vol. 3, p. 406 
MINERAL POISONS.
277
   On  being heated in a glass tube, they become de-
composed, and  give out volatile metallic  mercury,
and on being applied to a clean plate of copper, they
silver it.  The hydro-sulphurets also blacken them.*
  It is not necessary to notice the other preparations
of mercury in detail,, since their effects, in large quan-
tities, and their modes  of detection, are similar to
those already mentioned.   And I will only allude to
the numerous cases which of late years have been de-
scrihed  under the names of  hydrargyria,  mercurial
erithrismus, &c. as proving that the mildest prepara-
tions of  mercury, may, under certain circumstances,
and in peculiar constitutions, prove highly dangerous,
and even fatal.
  Mercurial vapours, and mercury in a state of
extreme  division.   Mercurial vapours  are undoubt-
edly to  be deemed  poisonous.   Many  cases  are on
record, which prove that workmen employed in mer-
curial mines, gilders, silvercrs of looking glasses, &c.
are subject to serious accidents  from their callings.
This however is a point, which I shall notice at
length in another place, when treating of the diseases
incident to peculiar trades and professions.
  The  usual  consequences of  a long  exposure to
them, are  " trembling and  paralysis of the  limbs,
vertigo, loss of memory and of the other intellectual
faculties,  salivation  and ulceration of the  mouth  :
colic, asphyxia, asthma, h»moptisis,  atrophy, apo-
plexy and death."
  The following is a remarkable  illustration of the
effects of mercury, iu a volatilized state, on the human
system.  A large quantity of quicksilver (about thirty
tonsj^ was saved from the wreck of a  Spanish ship
about Cadiz,  hy the  Triumph  man of war and the
Phipps schooner, both English vessels.  It was pla-
ced in their spirit rooms.   An alarming illness soon
broke  out among the crews, all of .whom were more
or less salivated.  The surgeons, pursers and three
"Orfila, vol. 1, p. 90,91, 
278
MINERAL POISONS.
 petty officers who were nearest the place  where it
 was stowed, felt its effects the  most,  as their heads
 and tongues were swelled  to the most alarming de-
 gree.  Every rat, mouse and cockroach on board the
 Phipps were destroyed.   And it was noticed, that
 those who slept close  to where the quicksilver had
 flowed in consequence of escaping from the bags, suf-
 fered slightly, in comparison to those who slept over
 the bags.   Every thing metallic was whitened.
  The explanation of this distressing event is not dif-
 ficult.   The quicksilver had  lain  for some  time in
 salt water, and when on board, the leather bags con-
 taining it, rotted.  Add to these, the effects  of gases
 generated on board ships,  and we have sufficient
 agents at hand  to cause the rise,  suspension and
 oxidation of the metal.  Dr. George Pearson sugges-
 ted that sulphuretted  hydrogen was  probably the
 principal cause.*
  Whether metallic mercury should  be deemed  a
 poison, is another question concerning which there is
 some diversity of opinion.  We know that it  has of-
 ten been exhibited in large doses with salutary effects,
 and indeed  in the days of Dr. Dover, two or three
 drachms of  it were a common morning draught,  as  a
preservative against gout  and gravel.  I  apprehend
that the proper distinction to  be taken respecting it is,
that when it can be so  acted  on,  as to be oxidated,
even in the  smallest degree, (as for example,  mixed
 with fat or oil, or even by friction alone,) it may prove
 deleterious.   Mr. Faraday has  also  contributed  a
 valuable fact in  illustration  of this  subject.   He put
some mercury in a clean dry bottle of about six oun-
ces, which formed a stratum at the bottom, not one-
eighth of an inch in thickness.   A small piece of leaf-
gold w as fastened to the under part of  the stopper of
the bottle, so that when the stopper was put  into its
place, the leaf-gold was inclosed in the bottle.   It was
then set aside in a safe place, and after some time, the

 * Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal,  vol. 6, p. 513.  London Med. and •
Phys. Journal, vol. 26, p 29. 
MINERAL POISONS.
279
leaf-gold was found, on examination, whitened by the

mercury.   He repeated this experiment several  times

with similar results, and he deduces from it the con-

clusion, that at common  temperatures,  mercury is

surrounded by an atmosphere of the same substance.*


  * Brande's Journal, vol.10, p. 354.  This deduction will probably ex-
plain the following remarks of Dr Falconer, of Bath.  " Instances (he re-
marks) of the ill effects even of the external application of mercury, are
sometimes found in the use of what are called quicksilver girdles, which
are often worn for the itch, especially by females ofthe lower rank, as be-
ing cleanlier and more free from foetor  than a sulphureous application.
Many of these cases have been admitted into the Bath Hospital.  The
general symptoms were a degree of general weakness approaching to palsy,
great pain and tremor in the limbs, and often violent headache."  (Edin.
Med.  and Surg. Journal, vol. 8, p. 214, quoted from Trans. Med. Soc. of
London. 
CHAPTER  V.
            MINERAL  POISONS  (CONTINUED.)

Antimony.  Tartar emetic. Symptoms—appearances on dissection—cffen
  on animals—chemical  proofs—antidotes.  Oside  and glass of antimony
  Muriate and sub-muriate.  Antimonial  wine.  Antimonial vapours.- Cop-
  per.  Metallic copper—its ready oxidation.   Oxide and carbonate.  Ver-
  digris.   Symptoms—appearances on dissection—effect  on animals—
  chemical proofs—antidotes.   Zinc  Sulphate.  Symptoms—chemical
  proofs—Whether metallic zinc is a safe  substance for domestic utensils.
  Tin.  Muriate—effects—tests—antidotes.'  Silver.  Nitrate—effects—
  tests—antidotes.  Fulminating silver.   Gold.   Nitro-muriate—tests.
  Fulminating gold.  Platina.  Nitro-muriate.  Bismuth.  Nitrate—tests
  —antidotes.  Iron.  Sulphate.  Lead.  Acetate.  Symptoms—effects on
  animals.  Cerusse.  Water  impregnated  with lead.   Litharge.  Articles
  ef food or drink contaminated with lead.  Earthen vessels glazed with
  lead—action of vinegar, apples, milk, on  them.  Adulteration of wines—
  cider—rum.  Saturnine emanations. Symptoms—chemical proofs—wine
  test—antidotes.  Phosphorus.  Effects.   Iodine.  Effects.   The con-
  centrated acids.  Sulphuric.  Symptoms—appearances on dissection
  —chemical proofs—treatment. Nitric.  Arrangement by Tartra, of poi-
  soning by it, into four classes.  Symptoms—appearances on dissection—
  chemical  proofs—treatment.  Caustic and  carbonated  alkalies.
  Potash.   Sub-carbonate of potash. Symptoms—appearances on dissection
  Soda.  Ammonia.  Barytes and its salts.  Effects on animals—symp-
  toms—chemical proofs—antidotes.  Quicklime.  Liver of solphur.
  Effects—appearances on dissection—treatment.  Nitre.  Symptoms-
  appearances on dissection—treatment.   Sal  ammoniac.  Gases.  Chlo-
  rine, gaseous and fluid.   Nitrous acid gas. Sulphurous acid gas. Nitrogen.
  Carbonic oxide.  Glass and enamel ? Remarkable medico-legal case.
  General  directions for ascertaining the nature of a suspected mineral
  substance by chemical tests—soluble  substances—insoluble substances
  Laws on poisoning, when death does not immediately follow.

                        ANTIMONY.

   A great prejudice formerly  existed against the use
of  metallic preparations,  with the exception of  iron,
and this was carried  to such a height as to the  com-
pounds of antimony, that the faculty of Paris  (among
whom Guy Patin  was the most conspicuous) obtained 
MINERAL  POISONS.
281
 an edict of the parliament of Paris, prohibiting their
 use as a medicine.   Nor  was it until  one  of their
 sovereigns had been*cured by the use  of antimony,
 that they (in 1666) demanded a sentence permitting
 its use.*   It is to be feared, however, that the various
 preparations are  often rashly and  improperly em-
 ployed at the present day.*
   Tartar  emetic   This substance in large doses
 must undoubtedly be  deemed a poison.   It is,  how-
 ever, far  from being as certainly destructive as arsenic
 or corrosive sublimate.f
   The narrative of a few cases will properly precede
 the list of general symptoms.
   V Jew, hy mistake, took ahout  twenty grains  of
 tartar emetic in the morning, fasting. ' In a few mo-
 ments after swallowing it, he experienced pain in the
 region of the  stomach,  which increased, and even
 brought on syncope.   After this, excessive vomitings
 of bilious matter came on with  alarming rapidity ;
 aqueous stools  occurred incessantly; the  pulse was
 small  and  concentrated ; the face  pale ; there  was
 great prostration of strength, and the  patient  com-
 plained  greatly of extremely painful  cramps in the
 legs.  By the use of proper remedies, the symptoms
 subsided  after an illness of about  six hours, and de-
 bility and painful digestion alone  remained.^
  A man, aged  about fifty years, determined to poison
 himself,  and for this purpose took about forty grains
 of tartar emetic on a Saturday morning.  Vomiting,
 frequent stools, and convulsions soon succeeded.  He
 was received into the Hotel Dieu  ou Sunday evening.

  * Phil. Trans, vol. 2, p. 710.  See also Note to Abridgment, vol. 1, p. 596.
  t A cuse is quoted by Orfila, where a female swallowed six drachms.
 Vomitings immediately ensued, but she was soon relieved from these, and
recovered without any subsequent injury. (Vol, I, p. 169.) We can explain
 the rationale  of this case, but I confess I do not understand the exemption
 which appears to be experienced in Italy from the ordinary effects of this
powerful medicine—miror magis.  One physician states that he has given
 live scruples  in fourteen hours, without the patient having either vomiting
or diarrho.a.  Dr. Bellati also furnished a list of doses given at the hospital
of Pavia, and among these is tartar emetic, from half a drachm to three
 drachms daily.  Dr. Bell in Chapman's Journal, vol. 3, p. 30 and 33.
  ; Case by Dr. Barbier of Amiens, from Magendie.  Orfila, vol.  I, p. 17$.
VOL. IT.
SG 
282             MINERAL POISONS.
 On Monday morning he complained of violent pain?
 in the epigastrium, which was distended.   He could
 with difficulty move  his tongue f lie  was.  in fact, in
 such  a state that  he might he taken for  a drunken
 man—he just spoke, and his pulse was imperceptible.
 During the day, his abdomen became inflated, the
 epigastrium  was considerably tumefied, and became
 more painful;  in  the afternoon  delirium came on.
 On Thursday,  all  the symptoms increased ; in the
 evening there was furious delirium : convulsions su-
 pervened, and he died at night.*
   The  following is a remarkable  case.   An individ-
 ual had collected about  twenty live grains  of  tartar
 emetic for  the  purpose of poisoning  himself.   He
 went into a coffee-house and asked for a glass of su-
 gared water, and having dissolved the mineral in this,
 he drank it down.    After leaving the coffee-house,
 which he did instantly,  he had  scarcely proceeded
 twenty  steps, before  he felt a burning pain iu the epi-
 gastric region, accompanied by convulsive  movements
 and a loss  of his senses.  He was carried  in this situ-
 ation to  the Hotel Dieu, ten minutes after  the acci-
 dent.   On  coming a little to iiimself; he confessed hit-
 crime, and a decoction of bark was immediately ad-
 ministered  in large  quantities.  The skin was cold
 and  clammy, the  breathing a little  short, the  pulse
 small and  concentrated, and the epigastric region a
 little tumefied and very painful, hiccup tolerably fre-
 quent, but no vomiting.  The  .symptoms gradually
 diminished in violence after taking  the bark, and in
 two hours, copious stools occurred aud conliuucd for
 several  hours.  On the next day, he vomited several
 times,  and gastritic  symptoms  were present  for a
 week, but were removed by the usual remedies.f
   From these and other instances, the following lis<
of symptoms may be deduced : a rough metallic taste,
nausea,  copious  vomitings, frequent  hiccup, cardial-
gia, burning heat in the epigastric region, pains of the

  * Case by Dr. Recamier, from Magendie. Orfila, vol. 1, p. 177
  t Case by Dr. Serres from Magendie   Orfila, vol. 1, p. 175 
MINERAL POISONS.               288
 stomach, abdominal colics, inflation,  copious stools,
 syncope,  small, concentrated and accelerated pulse,
 cold skin, but sometimes intense heat, difficult breath-
 ing, vertigo, loss of sense, convulsive  motions, very
 painful cramps in  the legs, prostration of strength,
 and death.*  Sometimes to these symptoms is joined
 a great  difficulty of swallowing, and deglutition may
 be  suspended for  some  time.f   The  vomitings and
 alvine excretions do not always take  place, and the
 consequence of  this is an increase in  the violence of
 the other symptoms.:j:
  There can he no doubt from the  marked effects of
 the tartar  emetic  ointment, as stated by  medical ob-
 servers, and iu  particular  by the illustrious Jenner,
 that its external application in large quantities would
 produce injurious consequences.  And. this indeed m
 amply confirmed by the results of experiments on an-
 imals, as we shall hereafter state.||
  Appearances on  dissection.   The mucous  mem-
 brane of the stomach is usually red,  inflamed and
 covered with mucus.   The duodenum is in a similar
 state, and  occasionally  the  other small intestines.
 The  lungs are often found more or less inflamed, and
 in some instances,  the brain is so also, and contains
 serous  fluid.   Hoffman  mentions a case, where the
 stomach was found  sphacelated, and the  spleen, dia-
 phragm, lungs, and  the parts  adjacent to  the affected
part of the. stomach, were gangrenous.   In a general

  •" Is not the rase in the Edinburgh Medical Essays, vol. 1,  p. 35, entitled
•' The bad effects of opium given too soon to slop the operation of emetics,''
an instance of poisoning by tartar emetic ?
  t Fodere quotes a case by Dr. Carron,  where there was a suspension of
rleglutitiou for two days, vol. 4, p. 156.
  X Orfila, vol. 1, p. 178.  Male mentions the case of a child who had taken
a large  dose and in whom no vomiting occurred.  He lay in a state of in-
sensibility, the extremities were cold, the pulse languid aud  almost imper-
ceptible, bui by  taking some strong brandy and water, these effects were
removed, and violent vomiting succeeded, and the patient recovered, p.166
 See also Journal of Foreign Science, vol.  l^p. 640.
  || Dr. Francis states that in two cases where, tartar emetic was used ex-
ternally in the form of ointment for a longer time than was proper, the
effects  upon the constitution of the patient were similar to those at times
arising from arsenic employed in the same manner; a comatose state, feeble
 pulse, inability to muscular exertion and enlargement ofthe smaller joints.
 rhese confluences continued several months. Ms. communication. 
284             MINERAL  POISON&.
way we may state, that the lung*  and the  mucous
membrane ofthe digestive (anal, are the organs prin-
cipally affected by this poison.*
   Effect on animals.   Magendie  and Brodie have
each investigated the effects of this salt on animals.
   The former ascertained that whenever the oesopha
gus  was  tied up in dogs, so as to prevent vomiting,
four, six or eight grains produced death at the end of
two  or three  hours ; while  those who were able  to
get rid of it by vomiting, often took a drachm, with-
out experiencing any material bad effect.   Large do-
ses,  (as half an ounce) how ever,  generally caused
death iu a few hours, or a few days, although instan-
ces did happen, where no accident followed from their
exhibition.
   When  a solution of  tartar emetic of six or eight
grains  to three ounces of  water, was injected into the
veins of a full  grown dog, vomiting and purging en-
sued, the breathing became difficult, the pulse fre-
quent  and intermitting,  and great disquietude and
tremblings of the limbs preceded death.  On dissec-
tion, the lungs  were observed of an  orange or violet
colour,  and distended with blood,  while the mucous
membrane of the  intestinal canal from the cardia to
the rectum, was red and inflamed.  A larger quantity
injected in a similar  manner,  produced  an earlier
death, and the inflammation was confined to the lungs;
but a weaker solution  took a longer period to devel-
ope itself, and the lungs and intestines were equally
affected.f
  Externally applied, the tartar emetic produced si-
milar vomitings and stools, and also the same lesions
on dissection.
  It thus appears, that as a general rule,  its first ef-
fect is almost always vomiting, in those animals who
are capable of  this function, and the poison  is thus
thrown off in many cases,  before  it has had time to
produce fatal consequences.
* Orfila, vol. 1, p. 177 to 180.
t Magendie, p. 24, 36, 37. 
MINERAL POISONS.             285
   The results obtained by Mr. Brodie were similar
 in many respects.  When applied to a wound in ani-
 mals capable of vomiting, it usually, hut not constant-
 ly,  operated as  an  emetic.  Paralysis, droAvsiness,
 and at last  complete insensibility,  were  among the
 symptoms that preceded death.  The stomach some-
 times bore the marks of inflammation,  but he never
 saw any appearances of it in the intestines.  These
 experiments  were performed on rabbits, and the same
 symptoms were  present,  whether  the  tartar emetic
 was injected  into the stomach, or applied to a wound.
 The deduction drawn by Mr. Brodie from  these re-
 sults is, that this mineral  does not produce its delete-
 rious effects  until it has passed into the circulation.*
   Chemical  proofs.  There is considerable discre-
 pancy among chemists as  to the solubility  of this salt.
 Dr.  Duncan, jun. is said to have selected very pure
 specimens for this  examination,  and  he states that
 one  part is soluble in three times its weight of water,
 at 212 deg.  and  in  fifteen at 60 deg.f  Probably  it
 would be  proper, in ordinary  cases, to  add rather
 more than these proportions.
   The following are among the tests of tartar emetic :
   (a) When heated red-hot in an earthen crucible
 with the  black flux, it blackens and  decomposes,
 leaving for a residue, metallic antimony, and  potash
 slightly carbonated, of a white colour.
   (b) Sulphuretted  hydrogen,   sulphuretted  water,
 and  the hydro-sulphurets, when used in small quan-
 tities, throw  down an orange-yellow precipitate, and
 a deep brown-red if employed in excess.  This  pre-
 cipitate,  after being dried and mixed  with charcoal
 and common  potash,  gives, by the action  of heat,  a
 cake of metallic antimony.
   (c) Concentrated sulphuric acid produces a white
precipitate.
   (d) Lime-water gives an abundant,  thick, white
precipitate, which is re-dissolved  with  facility by
* Lond. Med. and Phys. Jour. vol. 28, p. 126
t Paris' Pharmacologia, p. 195: 
286
MINERAL  POISONS.
nitric acid.   Barytic water produces the same effect
as lime-water.
   (e) The  infusion of  nut-galls in  alcohol,  is  the
most sensible test of this  substance in solution.   It
produces an abundant precipitate of a dirty white co-
lour, inclining a little to yellow.
   The  juices of  plants, the extractive decoctions of
roots and barks,  precipitate the solution of tartar
emetic,  and produce a  reddish  yellow deposit, con-
sisting of oxide of antimony and a portion of vegetable
matter.   According to Dr.  Paris,  one ounce of  the
decoction of yellow bark is capable of decomposing
one scruple  of this salt, and  rendering it completely
inert.*
  The application of tests to various  mixtures, pro-
duce the following results :
Substances employed.	« = x. *" O a 4> » U. 'i s . a E 1. % K!s = CI--I	c -*< s «* •S SS. JaE — CO.	o .. a.	cc S 5	c . IS c » s — <1	c ■ e 5
Effect of these mixtures <>n 1 each other.	No change	No change	Very sliRhtly disturbed.		No change	No change
lifl'ectsiif tests on these mixtures. Uydrosulphurets Larger quantity of ditto.	Reddish yellow precip. Green p.	Almost black.	Dcepish Red.	Reddish Orange.	Same as tar. em alone.	Same as lar. em. alone.
Inf. nut-calls in alcohol.	Violet p.	Deeper violet.	Turbid only.	Dirty while.	Same us tar. em. alone.	Abundant precip.
Sulphuric arid. Deep vin-i let prer.			White pr. inclining to yellow.	While, slightly yellow.		Same ;>■> tar. era. alone.
Lime-water.				,' * --	White	
  Tartar emetic poured on milk, produces no coagu-
lation, and the mixture gives  a  clear  red precipitate

  * Page 195.
  t This, however, does not disappear on the addition of pure nitric acid,
since the albumen forms an insoluble body. 
MINERAL POISONS.
287
 with  the  hydro-Sulphuret of ammonia.   Broth and
 bile  diluted  with water, do not alter  the aciion  of
 agents on  the tartar emetic.*
   These  results prove the uncertainty of depending
 on the above tests  solely.  The precipitates should
 in all cases he evaporated to dryness, and the proper
 process for reduction with the black flux must then be
 employed.
   Antidotes.   Vomiting, if not  already  present,
 should be  excited by tickling the throat aud the ad-
 ministration of warm water in large quantities, and
 even if it has taken place, warm  water is advisable to
 relieve the symptoms.   If  notwithstanding  the em-
 ployment of these means, vomiting cannot be induced,
 we should exhibit the decoction  of bark.  This was
 proposed  by. Berthollet,  and  its  value is  great,
 fiom the fact of its decomposing the salt.   Strong tea,
 the decoction of nut-galls, or of astringent, roots and
 barks generally,  will answer as substitutes when the
 hark cannot be obtained.f
   Opium  may be  employed  in excessive vomitings,
 and the  antiphlogistic  treatmeut is generally neces-
 sary to remove, the secondary symptoms.
   The oxide  and  glass  of antimonv.   These
 substances are also poisonous, even  in small doses.
 Hoffman mentions  fatal cases,  produced by the lat-
 ter, where the symptoms were similar to those caus-
 ed hy tartar emetic,  and  Morgagni quotes instances,
 where men and  animals died  from  its exhibition.
 lullammation of the stomach was observed on dissec-
 tion.:%
   Both the oxide and the glass being mixed with
 charcoal and  heated  in an earthen crucible, furnish
 metallic antimouy.
   The muriate (butter of antimony J and  submu-
 riate of  antimony.  These like the former, are

  * Orfila, vol.  1, p. 1G6-7-8.
  t In his latest work, Orfila gives the preference to gall-nuts, over all the
other astringents. Orfila's directions, p. <JU
  X Morgagni, vol. 3, p 370. 
2SS
MINERAL POISONS.
 deleterious substances.   Orfila quotes  a case from
 Borrichius,  where a few strong doses of the submu*
 riate caused violent purging and vomiting,  a copious
 salivation aud extreme debility.  For some time pre-
 vious to death,  the patient  was cold as ice, his pulse
 was  scarcely perceptible, and he breathed  with diffi-
 culty.   He nevertheless enjoyed  all his intellectual
 faculties.*
   These preparations may  be reduced with the black
 flux, and the hydro-sulphurets produce a precipitate
 more or less red, with their solutions.
   Antimonial wine.  The composition and strength
 of this preparation vary according to the purity of the
 solvent, and as this is liable to alteration, a degree of
 insecurity attaches  to  its exhibition.f   And I have
 no doubt that children have often been.injured by its
 administration without  proper advice.  I  will only
 advert to the  cases quoted by Orfila from Mangetus
and Fabricius Hildanus, as proofs of the dangerous
 and even fatal effects of this  substance.  Certainly
 the solution of tartar emetic in water, is a far prefer-
 able prescription.
   The  symptoms  and appearances  on dissection are
 similar  to those already mentioned.  The operation
 of tests  on wine added to tartar emetic have been al-
ready noticed,  but  they vary somewhat, when the
glass of antimony is used.  The hydro-sulphurets in
small quantity give  a deep red precipitate,  and in
large, a black one ; sulphuric acid, a deep yellow one,
bordering on a grey,  and the nut-galls a dirty white.
In our  chemical  investigations, we  should further
evaporate the  liquor to dryness, and then calcine it
with charcoal.   Metallic antimony will be obtained.}
  Other preparations  of antimony, as  the kermes
mineral, the golden sulphur  of antimony, the crocw

  *■ Orfila, vol. l,p. 190.
  * See Paris'"Pharmacologia, p. 308. Liquor Ant.  Tartarizati. He recom-
mends that antimonial wine be removed frum the list of officinal prepara
t'ons.
  X Orfila,,  vol 1, p. 191. \92. 
MINERAL POISONS.              289
 metallorum, &c. are also to be deemed poisonous,  if
 given in large doses.
   Antimonial  vapours.   Fourcroy  (says Orfila)
 relates, that he  has seen fifty persons  who were seiz-
 ed with a  great difficulty  of breathing, tightness  of
 the chest, and  a dry  cough,  gripings  and purging,
 ten or twelve hours after having respired the vapours
 of sulphuret of antimouy, which had  been  detonated
 with nitre.   The prolonged action of these might un-
 doubtedly lead to serious evils.*

                        COPPER.

   The preparations of this  metal are  seldom used  as
 the instruments of crime, but they are frequently poi-
 sonous  through accident;  and this is owing to  the
 circumstance of  copper being extensively  employed
 for domestic utensils.
   I shall notice, first, the nature of metallic copper,
 and then the action of its various compounds.
   Metallic copper.  The weight of  testimony  is
 decidedly in favour of this not  being poisonous, when
 perfectly pure.   Orfila cites several case's  from au-
 thors, where masses  were swallowed, and after some
 time voided  by  the natural passages,  without  pro-
 ducing any injury.  Dr. Paris mentions an instance
 where  six copper penny pieces were taken, with a
 view of self-destruction, and no  inconvenience  was
 experienced, except the effects of mechanical obstruc-
tion.   They were voided after a lapse of five years.f

  » Orfila, vol. 1, p. 195.
  t Paris' Pharmacologia, p. 250.  The following may seem to contradict
the usual results, but its peculiarities are probably to be ascribed to some
previous oxidation of the metal. " A  child aged three years, swallowed
two copper farthings by accident, at an interval of half a year after each
other.  After swallowing the first, he eat nothing for ten days, complained
of great pain at his stomach, and drivelled as if he had been salivated.
After the second, he began by degrees to lose bb flesh, and had the appear-
ance of consumption.  lie was, however, perfectly cured by the Bath wa-
ters."  Communication by Dr.  Edward Baynard, Phil. Trans, vol. 20,  p.
424. A case is also mentioned by Dr. Jackson of Boston, where the swal-
lowing of a half cent produced nausea and vomiting, with several other
symptoms characteristic of the poison.  New-England Journ. vol.3, p. 156
  vol.  ir                  37 
290
MINERAL  POISONS.
   It is not so certain that this substance  iu a state of
 minute division, as filings for example, is equally in-
 uocuous.    Portal  relates a case, where they were
 given to an individual labouring  under ascites, and
 while the  disease seemed to yield,  colic, tenesmus,
 and vomitings suddenly supervened.*  Experiments
 on animals, however, with large  doses of copper
 filings  mixed with grease or oil, have produced no
 injury,  and on dissection, their metallic brilliancy was
 ton;> ] unt  rnished.
   But we  have always reason to dread the effects of
 this metal ou the human system,  from the facility with
 which it oxidates.  Copper exposed  to a moist atmos-
 phere  becomes tarnished, and  passes into a state of
 oxide, which soon after unites with the carbonic acid
 of the  atmosphere,  and forms a greenish carbonate.
 It dissolves in the principal mineral acids,  with the
 aid of heat.  Milk however, although boiled for two
hours in a  clean kettle, did  not contain any  trace of
 copper, and  the  same result was obtained with tea,
 coffee, beer and rain water.    But if the water con-
 tained muriate of soda, it dissolved a notable portion
 of copper.f   Fat bodies, assisted by the oxidizing
 principle of the atmosphere, act with celerity on it,
 and Proust explains the quick corrosion and  destruc-
tion of the  copper sheathings of vessels, from the com-
 bined action of grease and muriate of soda. Don Ra-
phael Clavigo, (he observes) ascertained this cause,
and when he placed sheets of thick  coarse paper be-
tween the  plaster of  fat and the copper to prevent
 their contact, the  durability  of  the  sheathings was
 secured.
   We must remark, however, that the vegetable acids
 generally  dissolve copper  with difficulty,  even al-
 though  assisted by heat.   And  hence, the boiling of

  * Orfila, vol. 1, p. 801.
  t These  experiments were made by Mr. Eller, a chemist of Berlin.  He
 also noticed a  remarkable circumstance in connection with the last phe
 nomenon. If, instead of a simple solution of muriate of soda, it was previ
 ously mixed with beef, bacon and fish, the fluid resulting did not con-
 tain a trace of copper. Orfila, vol. 1, p. 202. 
MINERAL POISONS.
291
fiugar or syrrups, in vessels of this metal, does not of
itself produce any noxious compound, unless it be left
to cool in them.  In the  latter case, the boiled  sub-
stance acquires a bad taste and a green colour, and
the copper forms an oxide on its surface.
   These facts are sufficient to prove the necessity in
all cases of tinning  vessels intended for the prepara-
tion of articles of food.   Numberless causes, (says
Proust,) unite to accelerate the dissolution of the cop-
per, since the juices of all  viands are  fat,  acid, and
naturally saline.  It is therefore evident, that tinning
is indispensable for kitchen  utensils."*    And this
author  has also  shewn another advantage arising
from this precaution.   The usual alloy applied in tin-
ning  vessels, consists of equal parts  of  tin and lead,
and  the tin being more  oxidizable  than the lead, is
exclusively dissolved by any  vegetable acid that may
be contained in the  viands and thus prevents the lat-
ter from being attacked.    These compounds of tin
are known to be harmless.f
   Copper and  bell-metal  mortars are evidently haz-
ardous for similar reasons in the office of the apothe-
cary.  Not  only will moisture affect them, but also
many articles of the materia medica, and thus a dan-
gerous compound may result. J
   Oxide and  carbonate of copper.   The carbo-
nate  (natural verdigris)  forms  spontaneously on the
surface of copper or brass vessels, pieces of coin, &c.
when treated with  ammonia or  water,  and  is of a

  * Cleanliness may, however, ward off any formidable injury.  "Inthe
Orphan House at Halle, from 600 to 900 persons daily eat food dressed in
large copper kettles, and yet I never heard there of any bad effects from
them : here, however, I must observe, that the cleanliness was quite exem-
plary ;  that in the afternoon, we observed, with pleasure and admiration,
the kitchen perfectly clean and the  copper vessels bright."  Michaelis
Commentaries, vol. 3, p. 338.
  t Mr. Proust's papers on  Tinning, which appeared originally in the An-
nates de Chimie and Journal de Physique, I have consulted in the Repertory
of Arts, second series, volumes 6 and 9.
  X There is a useful paper on this  subject in the Medical Commentaries,
vol. 7, p. 311.   The author first shews that bell-metal mortars  are liable to
abrasion, and that thus the particles may be united with medicines, and
next that some substances will act chemically on them. 
292              MINERAL POlSOiNS.
 green colour.   The  oxide is of a blackish  brown
 colour.   Both of them are highly poisonous, and
 colic and vomiting are their usual symptoms.
   From the remarks made in the previous section, it
 will be readily understood, why copper utensils when
 not  properly cleaned, contaminate acid substances
 boiled in them.   Vinegar dissolves  the oxide with
 ease, as  does also ammonia.   Eller has proved that
 wine dissolves copper,  doubtless in  consequence of
 the acetic acid  contained in it and the oxidation ofthe
 metal by the air.*   And we can explain in the same
 way, the production of  the acetate in the  cocks of
 vessels from which  wine,  beer or  cider  is  drawn.
 " Drouard was affected for three days with colic and
 diarrhoea, in consequence of eating a ragout  which
 had been seasoned with wine drawn out of a cask,
 the cock of which contained acetate of copper,  which
 this liquor had iu part dissolved."  Fat bodies, such
 as fixed  and essential oils, &c.  dissolve  the  oxide
 and carbonate  of copper with  readiness, and  hence
 Proust very justly condemns the use of copper meas-
 ures for  oil.f
   The tests of these compounds are similar to those
of verdigris, which  we shall  now notice.
   Verdigris.   The compound substance known un-
 der this name, is the preparation of copper which most
 frequently produces deleterious effects.  Orfila has col-
 lected numerous cases,  illustrating its action,  and I
 conceive it will be useful to state the mode in which the
 respective individuals were poisoned. In one instance,
 a family consisting of nine persons were affected ; the
 first of these by a cake made with melted butter, and
 skimmed with an instrument of  copper, upon which
 the fat body had  been allowed to cool; five from

 - Moseley relates that in  1592, at a meeting of the great senate  of Bern,
the wine was put into copper vessels, and suspended in a well in order to
cool it. In a few days, the legates and others who had drank, were seized
A-ith violent pain in the abdomen, fever and  dysentery, and many died.
 Moseley on Tropical Diseases, p. 331.
 t Orfila, vol. 1, p. 203 to 206.  In several cities in Europe, distillers,
apothecaries, and others, are forbidden to use copper vessels unless they
 are tinned.  Ehrmann in Schlegel, vol. 3, p. 230. 
MINERAL POISONS.             296
some broth and meat  coming  out  of a saucepan,
skimmed  by the same skimmer, and the remainder
by a fricasee of  pigeons,  prepared in  the same pan.
The Jacobin Friars in Paris, to the number of twenty-
one, were poisoned in 1781, by eating some ray,
which  had  been cooked in a copper vessel.   The
cook, after taking out a part of the water, had poured
vinegar on the lis!1 to render them more firm,  and in
this state they  had stood for some time away from the
fire.   Some veal placed in an earthen pot,  to which
there was a  copper lid, and which lid laid directly
on the  meat, affected two individuals.  So also eggs,
prepared  with sorrel and butter in a copper  vessel,
which  was covered with verdigris.   Dupuytren men-
tions a case where a whole family was poisoned from
eating  lobsters,  which had been cooked, and  after-
wards placed in a copper kettle, with vinegar poured
over them.  Even pease, which remained for  a day,
in the copper vessel, have produced all the character-
istic effects of poisoning from copper.*
  Verdigris itself  is also sometimes used as  the in-
strument of suicide, f
  It is not necessary to copy the detail of any  partic-
ular case, since the leading symptoms in  all, are gen-
erally  very similar.  They are thus stated by Orfila :
" An acrid, styptic, coppery taste in the mouth, parch-
ed  and dry tongue ;  a sense of strangulation in the
throat, coppery  eructations, continual spitting, nau-
sea, copious vomitings, or vain efforts to vomit, shoot-
ing pains in the stomach, which are often very severe;
horrible  gripes,  very frequent  alviue  evacuations,
sometimes bloody and blackish, with tenesmus and
debility ; the abdomen  inflated and  painful  ;  the
pulse small, irregular, tight, and frequent; syncope,
heat of skin, ardent thirst, difficulty of breathing, anx-
iety about the prsecordia,  cold sweats, scanty urine,

  * Medico-Chirurg. Review, vol. 1, p. 158, quoted from a French Med
Journal.
  t See Metzger, p. 396, who quotes a case from Pyl. The  verdigris was
found in the pylorus, and it bad tinged the faecal matter. 
294
MINERAL POISONS.
violent headacb,  vertigo, faintness, weakness in the
limbs, cramps of the legs, and convulsions."  All
these, however,  do not generally occur in the same
individual, but vomiting and colic are very constant.*
   Gangrene sometimes takes place in the intestines,
and  this disease is  then accompanied with its usual
premonitory appearances.
  Appearances on dissection.   The alimentary canal
is the organ principally diseased.   When death en-
sues within a few hours after  taking  the poison, the
mucous lining of the stomach and intestines is found
to  be inflamed and gangrenous, and this extends even
to  the rectum.  In  one  instance,  that  intestine was
found pierced at  two points.   Sometimes the  inflam-
mation extends to all the coats, and sloughs are form-
ed,  which leave  openings, through which their con-
tents pass out, and  are  effused into the cavity of the
abdomen.f  Metzger remarks, that the green colour
ofthe salt tinges  all  the fluids contained in the primse
viae. J   Inflammation of  the  brain has occasionally
been noticed.||
   Effect on animals-  The  experiments of Drouard
on dogs, led him to the conclusion, that verdigris acts
immediately on the alimentary canal, in which it ex-
cites  inflammation,  without  being taken up into the
circulation by the lymphatic vessels.  To a young
dog, twelve grains were given, which produced death
in twenty-two hours.  The stomach was found  in-
flamed, and exhibited a black spot, which might have
been taken for  an erosion.   The  small intestines
showed no marks of  inflammation,  but the rectum
contained  small  ecchymoses,  similar to those in the
stomach.   In another instance, the stomach and duo-
denum were inflamed, and the rectum natural.
   When  a small quantity in  solution was  injected
into the jugular  vein,  death  ensued in  half an  hour.

 * Hiccup was a constant symptom in a fatal case witnessed by Dr. Pei-
cival.  Trans. College Phys. London, vol 3, p. 80.  The cause was an im-
moderate use of pickled samphire, impregnated with copper. A rash on the
surface of the body, has also been observed in some cases
 t Orfila, vol. 1, p. 224.    X Metzger, p. 131.    || Male, p. 147. 
                  MINERAL POISONS.            295

 The trachea  and bronchiae  were filled with frothy
 mucosities, and the great vessels were distended with
 black and fluid blood.  But in a dog who survived to
 the fourth day after this operation, nothing peculiar was
 observed either in the digestive organs or the vessels.
 Large doses  indeed seem to produce sudden death,
 preceded by vomiting,  convulsive motions, great in-
 sensibility and  paralysis, and  present  at  the same
 time but slight alterations on dissection.   Orfila  con-
 siders these facts  as  invalidating  the doctrine  of
 Drouard, and conclusive  in favour of the absorption
 of the poison, and its action on the nervous system.*
   Chemical proofs,   (a)  Sulphuric acid  poured on
 the verdigris in powder, decomposes it with efferves-
 cence, and vapours  of acetic acid are disengaged.
 But it must be recollected, that no such  effect is pro-
 duced with natural  verdigris,  (carbonate.)   Here
 acetic acid should be poured on it, and the subsequent
 tests applied.
   (b) Sulphuretted  hydrogen decomposes it,  and
 precipitates a  black  sulphuret of copper.   This  is
 said by Sylvester to be a very delicate test.
   fcj A clean plate of iron immersed in the solution,
 becomes covered in a few hours with a portion of the
 copper, and the blue colour of the solution grows first
 green, and then turns to red.
  (d) Caustic  potash  precipitates  it of a sky-blue
 colour, and in larger quantities, of a deep blue.  The
 sub-carbonate  of potash  likewise gives a sky-blue
 precipitate.
  (ej Ammonia gives a blue precipitate, but if added
 in excess, the precipitate re-dissolves, and the liquor
 is of a beautiful blue  colour.
  (f) Arsenious acid in solution gives an abundant
green precipitate.
  (g) Chromate of potash, a yellow precipitate.
  fhj The triple prussiate of  potash and  iron in so-
lution, gives a brown precipitate.  When  very dilu-
• Vol. 1, p. 212 to 216 
296
MINERAL POISONS.
 ted, it will only produce a red colour in the mixture,
 without any turbidness, but at the end of about twen-
 ty minutes, the brown precipitate will fall.  This is
 one of the most minute tests of copper.
   fij If  the suspected substance be in powder, it
 should be mixed with charcoal and heated to  reduess
 in an earthen crucible.  Metallic copper will be form-
 ed.  The same process  is proper, when the fluid is
 combined  with substances  which prevent  the action
 of tests.   Evaporate it to dryness, and then calcine
 with charcoal.
   The following are mentioned as the effect of animal
 and vegetable substances on it.   The infusion of tea
 decomposes the solution of the acetate of copper, and
 a flaky precipitate of a reddish yellow colour is  pro-
 duced.  If one part of a concentrated solution of ver-
 digris be added to  ten parts of red wine,  the liquor
 preserves  its  tranparency and the hydro-sulphurets
 give a black precipitate ; the prussiate of potash, a
 brown, and ammonia a very dark brown. Seven parts
 of the  solution of verdigris and ten of wine furnish a
 fluid,  with which  the above  agents  produce similar
 results, except that the precipitate from the ammonia
 is  of a black colour.  It readily follows from these,
 that this alkali is of no use in  detecting verdigris if it
 has been mixed with wine.
  If albumen be poured upon the acetate of copper, a
 bluish coloured  precipitate will be obtained.   Gela-
 tine produces no effect, whatever may be the tempera-
 ture of the  mixture, and the tests  act exactly as if the
 acetate of copper were alone.  Broth  furnishes  no
 precipitate, but milk is coagulated by a large quanti-
ty of the solution of verdigris, and the coagulum, when
 properly washed,  is of a deep green colour.  Sugar
 by trituration with verdigris renders it nearly  insolu-
 ble in cold water.*
  In certain cases however,  no vestige  ofthe poison
 can be detected, from its having been vomited up dur-
ing life.   Orfila recommends that we should then
"Orfila, vol. 1. p. 206 to 211 
MINERAL POISONS.
297
 scrape off the mucous membrane of the stomach and
 intestines, dry it and submit it to the action of strong
 heat in a crucible.   He has twice,  he observes, ob-
 tained metallic copper, by calcining in this manner a
 portion of the membranes of two dogs, poisoned by
 verdigris, and this effect  particularly takes place
 when the mucous  membrane  is of a  bluish colour,
 hard  and strongly adhering to the substance of the
 stomach.*
   Antidotes.  The investigation of M. Marcelin Du-
 val, and the earlier experiments of Orfila,  seemed to
 prove that sugar was the antidote  for verdigris.  It
 allayed the pain and other alarming symptoms, and
 produced a great number of liquid  stools.f  Subse-
 quent researches have however diminished the value
 of this substance.   It is useful in calming the irrita-
 tion, when the poison has been expelled by vomiting,
 but it exerts no chemical  action on it, and animals on
 whom the cesophagus was tied,  died  notwithstand-
 ing large doses of  syrup  were  administered.   When
 albumen was given under  similar circumstances,  the
 animal survived several  days,  experienced no  re-
 markable change,  and after  death,  no lesion  was
 found.!   It i-s hence the proper antidote, while sugar
 and its preparations may be used to aid its operation.
  Should any inflammatory symptoms  remain after
 the presumed evacuation of the  poison, the^ should
 be treated like gastritis,  and opium and antispasmo-
 dics may be indicated for the spasmodic affections that
 are apt to remain.
  The acetate, sulphate, muriate, nitrate and ammo-
 niaret of copper, are all poisonous to the human  sys-
tem,  and  they are to be detected  by most of the tests
already enumerated, but  most decisively by  the  re-
duction of the metal.  So also with coppery wine or

 * Orfila, vol. l,p. 231
 t V late case is recorded in the Medico-Chirurg. Review, vol. 1, p. 158,
 Amer. Edit, where sugar appareutly saved the life of the patient.  After
the second draught of sugar and water and whites of eggs, the vomitings
and epigastric pains ceased : he fell asleep and awoke quite well.
 X Orfila, vol. 2, p. 466.
    VOL. II.              38 
298              MINERAL POISONS.
vinegar.  The tests here arc uncertain,  and the only
mode left,  is to evaporate to dryness, and calcine the
residue with charcoal, in order to obtain metallic cop-
per.

                       ZINC.

  The sulphate of zinc,  from  its frequent use in
medicine, may, by accident, be taken in improper do-
ses.  Its property, however, of readily exciting vom-
iting, will prevent,  in  most cases,  any very serious
consequences*    In  the experiments of Orfila,  he
found that when  given to dogs in large doses, it caus-
ed frequent vomitings,  but they recovered  in a short
time.  When, however, a solution of it was injected
into the jugular-vein, violent and often ineffectual at-
tempts were made to vomit, and death followed in a
few minutes.   So also when the cesophagus was tied.
The animal died on the third day, and on dissection
the mucous membrane of the stomach was found  of a
deep red colour throughout its whole extent,  and
black spots were occasionally seen upon the muscu-
lar coat from  extravasated  blood.   The lungs were
less crepitating than usual, and their colour was rather
dark.
  Cases are also  recorded of its effects on the human
system.  In a female who by accident drank down a
solution of  two ounces, it produced au excessively
astringent taste, a contraction about the throat, burn-
ing heat at the stomach, cold extremities, pale coun-
tenance and convulsive pulse.   Vomiting,  however,
soon intervened,  and by the aid of proper remedies,
the consequent irritation of the  nervous system was
subdued.   In another case, violent pain in the epi-
gastric region  came on  and was succeeded by vomit-
ings and continual stools.   These gradually dimin-
ished and he recovered.*
  From these cases we may consider the following as

  * Orfila, vol. 1, p. 570.  " A female partook accidentally and very mode-
rately of a cake impregnated with white vitriol, which had been prepared
for the destruction of an old man.  He was seized with violent vomiting)
but the woman died."  Ballard, p. 396. 
MINERAL POISONS.
299
the chain of symptoms which will result from taking
this salt in large doses : " an astringent taste, sense of
strangulation/ nausea, copious vomitings, frequent
Btools, pains in  the  epigastric region,  extending af-
terwards over the whole ofthe abdomen, difficulty of
breathing, frequency of pulse,  paleness of the coun-
tenance and coldness of the extremities."
  Appearances on dissection.   I cannot find  any ex-
amination made after death on the human subject;
but it is probable from the dissection of animals, that
there would hardly be any thing observed, except an
inflammation of the membrane with which  the salt
had come in immediate contact.
   Chemical proofs.  Sulphate of zinc is very readily
soluble.
   (a) Potash and ammonia precipitate from it a green-
ish-white oxide, easily  soluble in an  excess of the
latter alkali.
   (b) Prussiate of potash causes a deep blue precip-
 itate.
   (c) The hydro-sulphurets, a blackish one.
   (d) Chromate of  potash, an orange yellow.
   (e) The  precipitates  should be evaporated to dry-
 ness, and they or the solid substance found, may be
 mixed with caustic  potash and charcoal, and then re-
 duced by a high heat.  Metallic zinc is obtained, af-
 ter a considerable interval.
   Gall nuts and an infusion of tea  produce a deep
 violet blue  precipitate ;  Burgundy wine, and   water
 saturated with sugar, occasion no change, but albu-
 men and gelatine give a white precipitate, and bile, a
 vellow  one.    Milk is curdled by a tolerably large
 quantity of this solution*
    Treatment.  We should endeavour to promote vo-
 miting by administering warm water aud  emollient
 drinks.  Milk is particularly proper, from its power
 of decomposing the  sulphate.   We must guard against

   * Orfila, vol. 1, p. 265, 266. 
300             MINERAL POISONS.
the approach of inflammation, and allay irritation by
anodynes.
  Oxide of  zinc.   This  can hardly be considered
a very deleterious substance.  In large doses, it pro-
duced vomiting in animals, and probably would have
the same effect on the human system.
  It is a problem of  considerable interest, whether
metallic zinc is a safe substance for domestic uten-
sils.   It has been repeatedly recommeuded for  this
purpose, by individuals on the continent of Europe,
but the examinations made by chemists are decidedly
unfavourable to it.    Proust suggests several objec-
tions with reference to its  manufacture, such as the
effect of heat on it,  and the difficulty of soldering;
but the most  important is  its facility of  oxidation.
The atmosphere alone produces this effect, while vin-
egar dissolves it and  forms  an acetate.*   Several
commissions have been appointed in France to exam*
ine into the propriety of employing this metal.  Vau-
quelin and Deyeux, reported to the medical faculty
of Paris, that water when  suffered to remain in ves-
sels of zinc,  decomposed  it,  and produced a white
oxide.  Vinegar caused an  acetate, which was as-
tertained by re-agents.  Citron juice and sorrel, each
produced on boiling, their respective compounds with
the metal.  Muriate  of soda in solution  furnished
a liquor which gave a precipitate of  oxide of zinc.
Lastly, butter heated in a sauce-pan  of zinc, destroy-
ed the polish ofthe vessel, and there  was even formed
by  the heat  a small hole in the bottom of it.  It is
therefore impossible, (they remark) to employ it for
kitchen utensils, without incurring  the hazard of its
being united, either in the state of oxide or salt, with
domestic viands.f
  The French Institute also appointed a committee,
at the request of the ministers of the interior aud  of
war, to enquire into the propriety of its use for the
* See Proust's paper, already quoted.
t Repertory of Arts, second series, vol. 23, p. 178. 
MINERAL POISONS.
301
fabrication of measures  for liquids, and for vessels
and utensils for the use of military hospitals.   It con-
sisted of Portal, Berthollet, Deyeux, Vauquelin, and
Guyton Morveau.   They repeated several ofthe pre-
vious experiments with similar results.   Even distil-
led water,  heated in a sand bath, dissolved  part of
the zinc, and  formed  a hydrate,  which  possessed a
distinct metallic taste.
   The commission remark,  that although the oxide
itself  may not be dangerous, yet if zinc vessels be
used  for domestic purposes, we shall have a  variety
of salts produced from the numerous ingredients that
are employed for food. And it is impossible that these
can be healthy; nor indeed can it  be  otherwise but
that some will  prove  noxious.    They therefore ad-
vise against the  adoption of this metal.*

                          TIN.

   In its metallic state, this substance is  not  poison-
ous ; but a preparation much used in the arts, is high-
ly deleterious, viz.
   The muriai'e of tin.   Three quarters of a  grain
dissolved in two drachms of water, and injected into
the jugular vein of a small dog, produced'a species of
catalepsy, which gradually passed into complete par-
alysis and insensibility, and death followed in twelve
hours after the  application.   Two grains injected  in
a similar  way,  destroyed the animal  in fifteen mi-
nutes—tetanic convulsions preceded the  termination.
Lastly, six grains caused vertigo and death in one min-

  * Repertory of Arts, second series, vol. 25, p. 247, 313. A third report
was made some  time  previous by Chaussier, Gay Lussac and Thenard, on
the question whether canteens of plated zinc were advisable for the French
armies.  They state among other results, that common wine, vinegar, and
even mixtures of vinegar and water, dissolve the  metal, and give  out hy-
drogen. The plating  of zinc vessels internally with tin has been attempt-
ed, but it was ahaudoned, from the acrid and disagreeable flavour given to
the meat, and they add, that tin does not appear capable of coating zinc in
such a manner as to guard it against the action of acids.  Lastly, plates of
zinc,  when soldered together, have too little solidity, and are apt to give
way.  They therefore gave a decided opinion against the introduction of
either plated zinc or tinned zinc, for the above purposes.  New-York Med.
Repository, vol.  17, p. 88. 
302
MINERAL POISONS.
ute after the injection.  On dissection, the lungs were
found more  or less shrivelled, and partially gorged
with blood ; the blood itself was dark-coloured, and
there was a slight redness ofthe mucous membrane of
the stomach and duodenum.   When  muriate of tin
was introduced into the stomach,  it excited violent
vomiting and death, without convulsions or paralysis.
The mucous membrane of the stomach, on examina-
tion, appeared of a dark-red colour, was hardened,
horny, and as it were, tanned. It was also ulcerated
in various parts, and the  intestinal canal contained
much black, thick, ropy bile. The lungs were sound.
  There are no cases on record,  I believe, of death
being produced on the human subject  by the use of
this substance, but from a narrative given by Orfila,
as to  the  effect of a small quantity taken by accident
in food, it is evident that it may prove highly delete-
rious.   Colic  was produced in  all the individuals,
and diarrhcea accompanied this in two of them.
  Among its tests are the following:
  (a)  The addition of corrosive sublimate  in solu-
tion, produces a white precipitate.
  (b) The muriate of gold, a purple precipitate.
  (c) The hydro-sulphurets  render it turbid, and se-
parate from it a blackish powder.
  (d) The prussiate of potash causes a white preci-
pitate, which soon becomes blue on exposure to  the
air.
  The action ofthe muriate of tin on animal and  ve-
getable fluids, is very distinct and powerful.
  A strong infusion of tea, and the infusion  of gall-
nuts in alcohol, give an abundant precipitate of a
clear yellow colour.   A small quantity ofthe muriate
dropped into Burgundy wine, produces  a violet co-
loured sediment.  Albumen precipitates it of a white
colour.    Gelatine decomposes  it,  and produces a
white, flaky precipitate.  Milk is converted by a few
drops into thick curds, which, on being dried, are of
a yellow colour, and friable.   Human bile added to
it, produces flaky curds. 
MINERAL POISONS.
303
  Simple syrup (water saturated with sugar)  seems
to be the only substance that does not occasion any
change in the solution.
  These results invalidate the importance of tests, and
it is therefore proper in all cases, according to Orfila,
to dry the precipitates, and calcine them in a crucible
with caustic potash.   Metallic tin will be produced.
  Antidote.   It is evident  from the  experiments  of
Orfila, that milk  acts as an antidote  to this poison.
It is completely coagulated,  and the coagulum con-
tains muriatic acid and oxide of tin, and is not delete-
rious.  The antiphlogistic treatment may  be subse-
quently necessary,  if symptoms of inflammation su-
pervene.*
  The oxide of  tin  has also  proved destructive  to
animals who have been made to swallow it.

                     SILVER.

  Nitrate of silver. (Lunar  caustic.)  A  small
quantity of this salt in solution, injected into the jugular,
produced difficult respiration,  the appearance of suf-
focation, efforts to vomit, pain, convulsions and death.
On dissection, the lungs were seen of a rose colour,
the heart was  distended with  blood, and in one in-
stance, the mucous membrane ofthe duodenum was  of
a bright cherry  red.   When the. cesophagus was tied
to prevent vomiting, and twelve grains in  the  solid
form were introduced into the stomach, death follow-
ed in six days,  without  any previous symptoms, ex-
cept  debility, intense thirst, and frequency of  pulse.
The  mucous membrane  was perforated in a number
of places, witli small scars,  of the size of a pin's  head.
The lungs were however sound. Again, twenty grains
in solution were administered to a dog, and produced
only  uueasiness  and dejection.   On the third day
thereafter,  thirty-two grains more were given,  which
caused vomiting of a pulpy  matter.  Of this he  again
recovered.   On the fifth day, the cesophagus was tied
Orfila, vol. 1, p. 247 to 261. 
304
MINERAL POISONS.
 and thirty-six grains  introduced.   It was followed
 by excruciating pain, and  he died on the night of the
 succeeding day.   The examination  after death pre-
 sented the mucous membrane of the stomach dissolv-
 ed into a pulp, and eschars of a greyish  white colour
 were seen  near the pylorus.  The muscular coat was
 inflamed, but the lungs were healthy.
  There are but few instances on record of injury done
 by the nitrate of silver to the human subject.   Orfila
 relates from Boerhaave,  that a student of pharmacy
 swallowed some lunar caustic, and excruciating pains,
 gangrene and sphacelus were the consequences ;  and
 Metzger alludes to a case, where the most imminent
 danger followed, from a surgeon letting a piece  drop
 into the  throat of a patient,  whose ulcers he was
 touching with it.*    Its effects on the skin, are an il-
 lustration  of  its  probable operation on  the  throat,
 stomach, &c.
   Tests,  (a) When thrown on burning charcoal, it is
 decomposed.  Vapours of nitrous gas are given out,
 and the metallic silver remains upon the charcoal.
   (b) The  solution stains the skin black.
   (c) Muriatic acid and the soluble muriates precip-
 itate the corneous muriate of silver, which is white
 and curdled.
   fdj  Potash, soda and  lime-water produce a deep
 brown precipitate.   Ammonia produces no turbid-
 ness.
   (e) The hydro-sulphurets give a black sediment.
   (f)  Arsenious acid  causes a yellow  precipitate,
which on exposure to the air, becomes black.
   fgj Phosphate of soda, produces a yellow preci-
pitate.
   fhj Prussiate of potash, a white precipitate.
   As to the effects of nitrate  of silver on animal or
vegetable substances, the following may be noticed :
   The alcoholic solution of gall nuts produces no
change.
" Metzger, p. 397. 
mineral poisons.              305
  If ten parts of  Burgundy wine be added to one of
a solution of nitrate of silver, the fluids become slight-
ly ttirbid and acquire a violet colour.   The  muriatic
acid produces a  white precipitate of this mixture,
the  hydro-sulphurets a greenish  brown, aud the phos-
phate of soda  a violet blue.*
  W hen fifteen parts of an infusion of tea are added
to two parts of a solution of nitrate of silver, a flaky
precipitate occurs of a deep purple-red, bordering a
little on black.  If one part of  nitrate of silver was
employed, the mixture  was of  a  yellow colour,  but
passed first to a red  and then to a black colour, with-
out affecting its transparency.   In this state, muriatic
acid gave a yellow sediment.
  Albumen gives  a copious white  precipitate, broth a
yellowish-white one, and bile an  orange-yellow one.
Gelatine causes no  change.   Milk is coagulated ; a
formation takes place of small white curds, and the
fluid becomes transparent.
  Antidote.   Muriate of soda appears from the expe •
riments of Orfila to counteract the effects of nitrate of
silver.  It produces an insoluble  muriate, which has
no power on the  system.   Hence salt water, aided
by  emollient and mucilaginous drinks, is advisable, f
   Fulminating  silver,  according to the  experi-
ments of M. Pagot Laforet, also acts as a violent poi-
son on animals in small doses. But if charcoal, mixed
with water, was administered in quantity immediate-
ly after the exhibition of  the poison, the symptoms
ceased, and no further injury was sustained.^
GOLD.
  Nitro muriate of gold, injected into the jugu-
lar of animals, produced death apparently by causing

  » Chlorine will not answer as a decolorizing application in this case, as
it decomposes the nitrate.  Orfila, London Med. Rep. vol. 14, p. 509.
  f Orfila, vol. 1, p. 274 to 2S7.
  { London Med. and Phys. Journ. vol. 25, p. 457, quoted from the Journal
General de  Medicine.
    VOL.  H.                39 
306             MINERAL POISONS.
suffocation.  The succession of symptoms were ver-
tigo, deep respiration, plaintive cries, and occasion
ally vomiting.  They  expired  in a few minutes after
the operation.   On dissection, the  lungs  were seen
gorged with blood, the heart was full of black blood,
but the mucous membrane of the stomach  and intes-
tines was sound.
  Death also followed from taking this substance into
the stomach, and the mucous membrane was, on dis-
section, found abraded in several places.
  We have no cases on record of poisoning by this
salt, but it is  evident  from the preceding  observa-
tions, and also from its effects as an article of the ma-
teria medica, that it  exercises a powerful action on
the human system.   It has come within my observa-
tion, to  have seen a case of dropsy  removed by its
use in a very short time.
  Tests,   (a) When thrown on burning charcoal, it
is decomposed, and converted into metallic gold, and
the chlorine is given off.
  (b) It stains the skin of a purple colour.
  (c) Sulphate of iron produces a brown precipitate,
and pellicles of gold are seen floating on the surface
ofthe fluid.
  (d) Muriate of tin produces a purple precipitate.
  (e) The hydro-sulphurets cause a deep chocolate-
coloured  precipitate.
  (/)  The prussiate of potash produces no effect.
  Effects of animal and vegetable fluids.   Muriate
of gold is notaflected by syrup ;  is precipitated red-
dish-yellow by tea ; red, chocolate-coloured, and af-
terwards metallic, by tincture of galls ; deep-purple
and metallic by Burgundy wine ; yellow  by albumen
and  gelatine; and  green,  passing into  purple and
violet, by bile.    It  also instantly   curdles milk.*
Chlorine  decolorizes the mixture  with  wine,  and
leaves the tests to operate in their usual manner.
  Antidotes. Dr. Thomson recommends the sulphate

  "' Orfila, vol, 1, p. 288 to 296 
MINERAL POISONS.
307
of iron for this purpose, from its property of decom-
posing the salt,  and throwing down the gold  in its
metallic state.*  Orfila recommends the antiphlogistic
treatment generally,  and  in particular the  use of
emollient and mucilaginous drinks.
  Fulminating gold  appears  to have proved high-
ly deleterious in several cases quoted by Orfila from
Plenck and Hoffman.   Vomiting, spasm,  diarrhoea,
faintings and death, were the consequences of the ad-
ministration of a few grains,  (three to six.)   Rivinus
mentions  having found holes in the intestines of a
child poisoned with it.t

                      platina.

   I conceive there can be but little doubt  that the
nitro-muriate of platina,  if taken internally, would
prove a  violent poison.  Being, however, a  rare ar-
ticle, and confined to  the laboratory, it  does not re-
quire a minute notice; but the following fact  is cu-
rious, and  deserving  of attention.   " A person has
been uniformly affected with erythema  of the  face,
during the last six or seven years,  every time he opens
a bottle containing the liquid nitro-muriate of platina,
within two or three feet distance,  and without  touch-
ing the face.  The same effect is  produced by open-
ing a bottle containing dry ammonia, or  oxide  of pla-
tiua.  If the smallest  particle of these substances be
brought  into contact with  the face,  even the fingers,
though they be carefully wiped after touching these
preparations, if they come  in  contact with the face,
the erythema is excited.   It spreads rapidly over the
skin of the face, feeling very hot, itching  extremely,
and causing a pale rose-red colour.   In  two, three, or
at most four hours, this slight disease disappears.'^

                      bismuth.

   Nitrate of bismuth,  in its crystallized  state, was

  • Annals, vol. 5, p. 385.         t Orfila, vol. 1, p. 297
  X Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 8, p. 524. 
308
MINERAL POISONS.
boiled in distilled water,  and the fluid afterwards fil-
tered.  When this was injected into the jugular vein,
it produced  retching, plantive cries,  convulsions of
the limbs,  palpitation, difficulty  of  breathing,  and
general depression and death.   The hmgs were dark
coloured, but tinged only in particular parts, or wrin-
kled.   The left ventricle and arteries  contained only
a little black blood.   The subnitrate of bismuth, on
being introduced into the stomach, produced a vomit-
ing of  white ropy matter, deep and difficult respira-
tion, trembling ofthe limbs and death.  The mucous
membrane of the stomach was either  highly inflamed
or extensively ulcerated, so that the slightest friction
separated it in the form of pultaceous scraps.   Por
tions ofthe lungs were gorged with blood.
   When the white oxide of bismuth has not been pre-
pared with  sufficient care,  it often  happens, that vio-
lent vomiting, diarrhoea, and other unpleasant symp-
toms  will ensue from its administration.   And I ven-
ture to suggest, that the instances mentioned by  prac-
tical writers,  have arisen from this  cause.  In one
case where the precipitate produced by  adding water
to the nitrate, did not undergo the repeated washings
which  ^re  necessary,  I have known it to cause the
most alarming vomiting.   It is  certainly  not yet es-
tablished, that the white oxide, when  pure, will cause
any injurious effects.
   Tests (a)  Sulphuretted hydrogen causes a black
precipitate.
   (bj The prussiate of potash, a pale yellow.
   fcj Ammonia causes a white precipitate.
   (d)  The chromate of potash, a beautiful orange-
yellow.*
   (e)  The tincture of galls, a flaky pale yellow.
   (f) On the addition of water,  the fluid  becomes
milky,  and  a white precipitate gradually  subsides.
   fgj  The precipitates, on being calcined with char-
coal in a crucible, give out the metal.

 * So also, says Dr. Cooper, does corrosive sublimate with Chromate
of potash. 
MINERAL POISONS,
309
   Nitrate of bismuth is precipitated pale yellow  by
 tea. yellow by bile, and white by albumen and milk.
 The last is curdled  by it.  Gelatine is .not affected.
 Burgundy wine gives a rose coloured precipitate,  in-
 clining to violet.  The supernatant fluid  preserves
 the red colour of the wine,  but the hydro-sulphurets
 on being poured into  it,  produce a black precipitate.*
 Ammonia deprives it of its colour,  without occasion-
 ing any sensible  white precipitate.
   Antidotes.   Milk, and  mucilaginous drinks ; aud
 if svmptoms of inflammation supervene,  the antiphlo-
 gistic regimen.^

                       IRON.

   Sulphate of  iron.   This salt has proved an  ac-
 tive poison to animals  in  the ffands of Dr.  Smith.
 When applied in the dose of two drachms, to the cel-
 lular texture of the inside  of the thigh of two dogs, it
 killed them iu the course  of twelve or fifteen hours.
 On  dissection, the internal surface of the stomach of
 oncof thein, was found covered with a  multiplicity of
 petechial spots.  Tne wrinkles of  the  rectum were
 uumerous and black ;  the liver whitish,  with  livid
 spots on its convex surface ; while the  heart contain-
 ed black grumous blood,  aud its ventricles had some
 slight livid blotches.
   When introduced  into  the stomach iu the dose of
 two drachms, it did not destroy life  iu less than twen-
 ty-six hours,  and  without any other apparent symp-
 tom  than a geueral insensibility ; the interior of the
 stomach   exhibited red  spots ; the  small  intestines
 presented  blackish  puffy  swellings, and  the upper
part of the rectum shewed  red folds. J

  * On the addition of chlorine, the mixture is rendered colourless, and
 the lests produce their ordinary effects. Orfila.  Lond. Med. Repos. vol.
 14 t). 409.
  t Orfila, vol, 1, p. 298 to 307.
  X Orfila, vol. 2, p. 468. 
310
MLNERU.  POISONS.
                       LEAD.

   This metal  differs  materially from those we have
 already  noticed,  in its  effects on  the system.   It
 frequently produces a constriction of the intestines,
 and hence  has  been  styled, an astringent  poison,
 whilst the others have been characterised as corrosive
 or acrid ones.   We shall, however,  find that inflam-
 mation is not an uncommon consequence from its ex-
 hibition, and in his last work, Orfila arranges it among
 the corrosive or irritating poisons.
   I shall notice some ofthe compounds.
   Acetate of lead.  There are but few  cases re-
 corded of poisoning by this substance.   The  follow-
 ing, however,  is related in a late publication.   It oc
 curred in the person of a soldier, who drank a con-
 siderable quantity  oi* the solution.   He  was  soon
 seized with the most violent symptoms,  indicative  of
 gastric inflammation.   A sense of suffocation, draw-
 ing in of the  belly, costiveness,  cold and clammy
 sweats, and trismus, were present.   He died in great
 agony at  the  end of three days.  On dissection, the
 lead was  discovered by  proper tests in the fluids  of
 the stomach.   The mucous membrane of that organ
 was abraded in several places, particularly near the
 pylorus ; and  the oesophagus, stomach, duodenum,
 mesentery, liver and spleen, were iu a state of high
 inflammation.*
   Dr. Shearman has  also  observed fatal  effects to
 follow from an adulteration of gin with sugar of lead.
 The symptoms were, occasional violent colic pains,
 chiefly occurring after  meals, attended with an obsti-
 nate  costiveness, and  although these were for a time
 relieved by purgatives  and other means, they almost
 universally recurred.   The  progress of the disease,
 he observes, even in those cases where it attained its

 * Transactions Coll. Phys. London, vol. 6, p. 39. Case by Dr. Kerchkoffs
 The editors of the London Med. Intell. in remarking on this case, observe,
that they once saw a gentleman die with similar symptoms, after swallow-
ing about three ounces of solution given to him by a quack for an injec-
tion. New-England Journal, vol. 10, p. 86. 
MINERAL POISONS.
311
utmost violence, was in almost every instance so in-
sidious and slow, as to leave the observer unappre-
hensive of its  true character, which, however, was at
last brought to light.*
   Instances are, however, stated, where this salt in
quantity has not  produced any injurious effects.   An
apprentice of  a cooper, near Glasgow, had an ulcer
on the tibia, accompanied with considerable  inflam-
mation,   for which he was  ordered a  poultice  with
acetate of lead.   As this article is much used by linen
printers,  he procured  in an adjoining print-field,  a
lump, which  could not have  weighed  less  than  a
pound,  being, as he said,  of the  size of  his fist.
On coming down, he laid  it  on the  kitchen-table,
and shortly after went away.   His  mistress,  an old,
short-sighted woman, soon  came in with cabbage for
the family dinner—laid it on the table  upon the lead,
without  perceiving it,  and cut them  down   with  a
knife.  By this operation, both  were incorporated into
one mass, and the whole was put into a pot, boiled
with potatoes, and  afterwards  chopped  together for
dinner.   This dish was eaten by the master and mis-
tress, their daughter and her  husband,  and  two ap-
prentices.  Soon after,  the lad wished to prepare his
poultice, but the materials could not be found.   As a
curious taste  had  been  observed by all of them  in
their food, they became alarmed,  and  on examining
the table, it was evident that the sugar of lead and the
cabbage had  been bruised together, as some of the
former in a powdered state  still adhered to it.  Mr.
Hunter of Dumbarton was immediately sent for.   He
gave to five of them an  emetic, which operated well,
and  they experienced no  disagreeable symptoms af-
terwards.  The sixth person, an  apprentice, refused
to take auy thing, as he felt no uneasiness, nor did he
subsequently experience any disorder in his bowels.f

  * Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 8, p. 213, from Trans. Med
Soc. London.
  t Londou Med. and Phys. Journal, vol. 9, p. 173. Case by Mr. Hunter
of Dumbarton. 
312
MINERAL POISONS.
   I may add to the above, that I have known a drachm
 taken by mistake without  producing  any  ill effects.
 A it] I was at one period disponed to attribute the ex-
 emption in these instances, to the absence of sulphate
 of lead, with which, it is well known,  tie acetate of
 lead of commerce is  often adulterated.   The experi-
 ments of Orfila on animals,  (which I shall  presently
 state.) however, sufficiently establish  the  poisonous
 nature of the acetate,  even if we had not instances of
 it on the human subject, and we must therefore as-
 cribe the escape in these cases, to accident, constitu-
 tional strength, or some fortunate state of the stomach
 and bowels.*
   I have too often witnessed the  value and efficacy of
 acetate  of  lead in pulmouary and  uterine  haemorr-
 hages, not to feel a great partiality for it as an astrin-
 gent medicine.   I know of nothing that can be  sub-
 stituted, in extreme cases.   But 1 must stop here, and
 unequivocally condemn the  practice which  has occa-
 sionally obtained of late years, of administering  this
 salt in diarrhoea.  It is  not necessary at this time, to
point out the reasons why it must prove injurious—it
is sufficient to say,  that death,  preceded by all the
symptoms of acute  poisoning, has  been the conse-
quence of its exhibition.  We have the authority of
 my friend  Dr. Mann, late   hospital surgeon in the
 United States army, in asserting, that during the  war
of 1812, several officers of rank fell victims to its use.f
  Effects on animals.   When a  solution of the  ace-
 tate of lead, containing from one to three grains,  was
 injected into the jugular of dogs, it did not appear to
 incommode them.  Once  or  twice only, the animals
 made some slight  efforts to vomit, and threw up a
 small quantity of whitish stringy matter.  Five grains
 did not at first appear to  produce any effect; but on
 the third day, the animal became dejected and refus-

  * He seems also to have shewn, that sulphate of lead is innoxious. Se«
 vol  1, p. 485.
  ^ Rex? England Journal, vol. 11, p. IP 
MINERAL POISONS.
513
^1 to take food.  On the fourth his gait was unstea-
dy and difficult, his posterior extremities occasionally
exhibited  some  convulsive, movements, and he was
extremely weak.   He died on the fifth day, and the
lungs and stomach were found healthy.    Thirteen
grains injected in this way, produced  instant death
without  any  signs of  pain or convulsions.   The
blood in the left ventricle was  fluid, and of a vermil-
ion red colour.
   When the acetate was taken into the stomach in a
solid form, and in doses of from three drachms to  an
ounce or more, it  excited  vomiting, dejection, and
death.   The mucous membrane of the  stomach  was
inflamed, and spots of a dark colour were observed on
it; the intestinal canal and lungs  were healthy.   Its
effects when given  in solution, were a loss of muscu-
lar power, trembling of the limbs, and vertigo.   The
mucous membrane  was of a grey ash colour.*
   As the chemical proofs of all  the  preparations of
lead are  in many  respects similar, we shall notice
them at the conclusion of this article.
   Carbonate of  lead, (cerusse  or white lead) We
have a remarkable case on record, of the  noxious  ef-
fects of this substance on the human system.
   Mr. Dee ring, a surgeon  in London, was requested
on the 21st of October,  1803, to visit  Mrs. R. the
wife  of a respectable tradesman in Aldersgate-street,
who  complained of violent pain  in  the  scrobiculus
cordis,  with great  soreness of the epigastric region
when pressed upon.  She had  vomited a consider-
able  quantity of bilious matter,  and at the same time
her bowels were  constipated ; the pulse was  calm
and  regular,  the tongue  clean and moist, and there
was  no symptom of  fever  present.  A cathartic was
administered, which operated, and an opiate given in
the evening.  The following  morning  she appeared
relieved ; but in the evening, the pain and vomiting
recurred, and these symptoms continued for some suc-

  * Orfila, vol. 1, p. 457 to 461.
    VOL. II.              40 
314             MINERAL  POISONS.

cessive days, in so distressing a degree, that it wa$
dfeemed advisable to consult  the family  physician,
which was done on November 4, 1808.  At this time
these symptoms continued as already intimated,  with-
out any appearance of fever, and hence the physician
was induced to consider the affection as of a  rheu-
matic and spasmodic nature.
  In a few days, in consequence of the amendment
ofthe patient, he discontinued his visits.   In about a
week after  this period, a boy in the same family,
nearly  sixteen years of age, was seized with symp-
toms exactly similar to those of  the preceding case,
and similar remedies afforded only partial relief, till
at length he was removed into the country, and there-
by recovered his health.
   A week after the  attack of this youth, the eldest
child, a boy six years old, was also seized with ana-
logous  symptoms, and the mother having  relapsed
into  her former state,  the physician was  again con-
sulted on the 19th of November.   At this time, three
other persons  in the family laboured  under similar
affections, and suspicions were now  entertained that
some poisonous substance  might have caused this
general indisposition of the  family ;  but after minute
investigation,  no one circumstance was discovered to
confirm this suspicion, or to elucidate the source of se
extensive a calamity.
   The sickness and  pain continued unabated in Mrs.
R. but the  son, after the period of a fortnight, was
deemed in a state of convalescence by his physician,
who discontinued  his attendance ; he was,  however,
soon after seized with convulsions, and expired  with-
in a few hours.  Unexpected and severe as this shock
was, Mrs. R.  afterwards gradually grew  a little bet-
ter.  She had hitherto continued to suckle her child,
which, it  being fifteen months old, she was advised to
wean :  to this  she reluctantly consented.  In  about
ten days afterwards the child became somewhat cos-
tive, without any other apparent indisposition ; but
at this period it was  seized with vomiting  and con 
MINERAL POISONS.
315
vulsions,  and suddenly expired.   The uuhappy pa-
rent now experienced a return of her complaints, and,
under a persuasion of the inefficacy of professional
aid, she was  prevailed upon to consult an empiric,
whose attendance, though continued to the end of the
year,  proved unavailing ; and on the 3d of January,
1809, she had the advice of Mr. Chevalier, an expe-
rienced  surgeon,  who  considered the patient's  com*
plaint to be  chronic rheumatism ;  and by the use of
clysters of warm water, oily mucilaginous medicines,
fomentations, and vesicatories, she appeared  to ex-
perience more relief than at any period  since the first
attack ;  but  although the vomiting  and sickness were
less violent and frequent, the pain and soreness of the
abdomen, first complained of, never entirely subsid-
ed : she was, however, able to sit up and amuse her-
self with a little needlework, and to go about the do-
mestic concerns ofthe family, and Mr. Chevalier had
proposed to  pay  his final  visit on the 21st.   On the
morning of this day she rose at ten  o'clock, and with-
in the space of an hour afterwards,  whilst standing
near the desk of  drawers,  she suddenly exclaimed,
" I am dying \"  She was seized  with  convulsions,
which continued  till  five o'clock  in the afternoon,
when  she expired.
  On  the subsequent day,  Mr. Chevalier, whose au-
atomical skill is well known,  examined the body by
dissection.  Neither the thoracic and abdominal vis-
cera,  nor the brain, upon the  most minute examina-
tion,  exhibited the least appearance of disease ; in
short, not the least trace could be  discovered of any
morbid affection.
  With respect  to the three other persons already
mentioned to have been indisposed, the servant maid,
one of them, was conveyed to her friends, and recov-
ered.   A sister-in-law of Mrs. R. also recovered ;
but the third,  who was her mother-in-law died,  after
lingering under disease till March.
   These  circumstances having been cursorily com-
municated to the medical society,  Dr. Adams,  Dr. 
316
MINERAL POISONS.
Hamilton, and Mr. Lawrence, were requested to visit
the house of this unfortunate  family, and to endea-
vour to ascertain the cause of the calamity.  Every
culinary article,  and the whole premises, were  accu-
rately  examined, but without its leading to any dis-
covery.  It appeared,  indeed, that Mr. R.  the hus-
band of the deceased lady, had purchased a cask of
sugar at a  sale, a considerable  part of which had
been disposed of to some friends in the country, who
had used it without inconvenience, and hence no sus-
picion  was  entertained of this article having produced
the fatality in Mr. R's. family.
   In  this state  of uncertainty, Dr. Laird,  another
member of the  medical  society,  visited the house ;
and, on examining the cask which had contained the
sugar, he observed a white powder adhering to its in-
ner surface, and which, on being heated by the blow-
pipe on charcoal, afforded globules of lead in the me-
tallic state.
   The mystery  was thus at length  developed.  The
sugar had  been  injudiciously put into a cask  which
had previously contained white lead.  That part  of
the sugar which was sent into the country had proba-
bly been  taken out of the middle of the cask, and had
never  come in   contact with  the lead ;  whilst that
which  was used by the  family,  having been taken
from the  side,  was impregnated with this metal, and
doubtless was the source  of the fatal events described.
   Of nine persons in this family, who were more or
less indisposed,  four died, and the effects of the poi-
son appear to have been nearly  in the  ratio of their
respective ages.
   The infant,  fifteen months old, was attacked aud
expired within  the space of  twenty-four hours  ; the
child,  six years  of age, survived a fortnight; Mrs. R.
aged forty, lingered three months  before  the fatal
event took place ; and the mother-in-law, aged sixty-
seven,  died four months after the attack.
   The symptoms  in each were very similar.   The
vomiting, pain in the stomach, and costiveness, mark- 
MINERAL POISONS;
317
 ed the  attack ofthe disease ; aud the soreness ofthe
 epigastric region, in those who recovered, was not re-
 moved by medicine, but  seemed  rather gradually to
 wear away by time or change of air.  The matter
 vomited was usually of a dark yellow colour,  though
 sometimes  green; the  faeces  were  in  general dark-
 coloured ; but in the case of Mrs. R. they were com-
 pletely white during the space of twenty-four hours
 only.
   There Avas a considerable sameness  in the medical
 treatment.  The opiates  which were given afforded
 no mitigation of  the symptoms,  unless joined with
 cathartics,  and  aided by  fomentations,  &c.   The
 countenances of all the  patients exhibited a pale, sick-
 ly,  wan aspect.   The  pulse in  each  was slow and
 regular, rather indeed  sluggish, and generally below
 the natural state ; but in no instance was* there any
 symptoms of paralysis.*
   Water impregnated with lead.   Metallic  lead is
 readily converted into  the state of carbonate  by the
 contact of aerated water,  and  it  is  on  this principle
 that  we  can explain the injurious  effects which are
 frequently produced from drinking  water  which  has
 remained for some time in reservoirs of this metal, or
 passed  through pipes of it.
   Dr. Yeats, in  a paper on the waters of Tunbridge
 Wells, mentions, that in 1815, lead colics were very
 frequent at that place.  A Mr. Taylor had laid down,
 in 1814,  several thousand feet of  leaden  pipes,  to
 convey water to the different houses.  In the follow-
 ing year, the lead colic occurred in those houses to
 which this water was distributed,  and all doubt as to
 the existence ofthe poison iu it, was removed by the
 examinations of Dr. Lambe and Mr. Brande.   They
 detected the carbonate,  in a very  minute state of di-
vision, in the water.f

  * Eclectic Repertory, vol. 2, p. 402—copied from the Transactions ofthe
 Medical Society of London, vol. 1, part 1.
  t Brande's Journal, vol. 14, p. 362.   Carbonate of lead  is insoluble in
 aerated water. It is diffused through it in a very minute state of division,
and is very long in subsiding.  Ibid. vol. 14, p. 240. 
318               MINERAL POISONS.
   A somewhat  similar case is related of officers on
 board a packet bound to the E tst Indies.   Tliey put
 their allowances of water in a leaden cistern, furnish-
 ed with a stop-cock, and in about three weeks, every
 one of them was affected with all the symptoms of co-
 lica pictonum, in the most violent degree.   On arriv-
 ing at St.  Helena, they gradually recovered.*
   These facts prove, that water resting in leaden re-
 servoirs, cisterns or  pipes, may become impregnated
 with it.   And there is danger to be apprehended from
 its use, if the quantity suspended be sufficiently large.
 The exemption occasionally experienced, is  to be at-
 tributed to the want of  this last, and also  to the cir-
 cumstance that some kinds of water are unable to dis-
 solve or  suspend the lead.f
   Litharge is  another compound of lead which has
 occasionally proved poisonous.    Sir George Baker,
 states, that twelve infants died  successively in con-
 vulsions, at Dartmouth, (Eng.)   in consequence of an
 ointment, which had litharge in its composition, be-
 ing applied to the  nipples  of their  nurses.J    This
 substance has also  been extensively  used for  the ad-
 ulteration of wines.
   Instances are  also frequently given by medical wri-
 ters, where the external use of  preparations  of lead,

  * Medical Commentaries, vol.  19, p. 180.   The presence of lead in the
 water  was demonstrated by the application of a solution of sulphuretted
 hydrogen. Additional cases of the injurious effects of water impregnated
 with lead, may be found in the Transactions of the College of Physicians,
 London, vol. 2, p. 419, &.c.
  t In the water of the river Thames, though it flows in leaden pipes, no
 lead can be detected.  And this may be explained by the fact, that the an-
 imal matters which constantly accumulate in it, prevent any dissolution or
suspension of the metal.  They combine with it, and form a bulky, inso-
 luble precipitate. " If you add nitrate of lead to Thames water, you will
 find that it becomes milky, and  that a white powder falls to  the bottom,
 which dissolves withouteffervesence in nitric acid.  It is therefore a com-
bination of oxide of lead with some animal matter.  Thus it is the impu-
rity of Thames  water, that prevents it from  containing lead.   Probably
hard waters, containing sulphate of lime in solution, may also be free from
lead.  But with these exceptions, we may lay  lay it down as a general fact,
that all waters which pass through leaden pipes, or which are kept in.lead-
en cisterns, contain small particles of carbonate of lead."  Dr. T. Thomson.
 Edinburgh Med. and SurgJ. Journ. vol. 12, p. 495.
  t Transactions College Physicians, London, vol. 3, p. 423 
MINERAL POISONS.             319
 when applied to abraded surfaces,  has  proved dele-
 terious.*   But these are not common.
   Different articles of food or driuk may become con-
 taminated with this substance.
   If the food contain any free vegetable acids, or  sa-
 line preparations, it will attack utensils made of lead,
 and oxidate, and indeed in some cases dissolve them.
 This  circumstance  seems to have  been  known to
 the  ancients.   Their tin  was all adulterated with
 lead, aud  Galen, assigning this as a reason, cautions
 against the use of tinned vessels, and recommends the
 preservation of medicines in glass ones.f
   Earthen  vessels,  glazed with  lead,  are  also very
 apt  to be acted on by vegetable acids.   Vinegar cor-
 rodes them, and if there be any article of food  within,
 the oxide or acetate  that is produced, will  mix with
 it. J   So also weaker acids.   A  case occurred some
 years ago,  at Northampton, Mass. where a  family,
 consisting of eight individuals, were all seized with co-
 lic pains, strong convulsive spasms of  the intestines,
 frequent vomitings, and obstinate costiveness,  in con-
 sequence  of eating  stewed  apples,  which  had been
 kept for some months in a large earthen vessel.   On
 examination, the glazing was found corroded, and a
solution from the stewed apples, exhibited the  chemi-
 cal proofs indicative  of  the metal,||   Dr. Eberle also
 states that he saw four cases in 1815,  arising from  ap-
 ple butter being in these vessels.   On examining one

  * See Med. Commentaries, vol. 3, p. 199. Orfila, vol. 1, p. 472. Perci-
val's observations on the poison of lead.
  t Beckmann on inventions, vol. 4, p. 29.  The question has sometimes
been  asked, whether the sheet lead which is  wrapped round the tea ob-
tained from China, may not prove injurious.  Dr. Thomson has  satisfacto-
 rily determined this point.  He  found it on  analysis,  to  consist of  lead
95.5 parts, and tin 4.5 parts in the hundred. This alloy is not so liable to
tarnish as pure lead, and it possesses this peculiar advantage, that when it
conies in contact with articles of  food, the tin is always acted upon in pre-
ference to the lead.  Annals of Philosophy, vol. 4, p 155.  Proust estab-
 lished the fact just mentioned, by numerous experiments.  See his paper
on Tinning, copied from the Journal de Physique, in the Repertory of Arts
 second series, vol. 9, p. 38 and 145.
  X Trans. Col. Phys. London, vol. 1, p. 257, &.c.
  || " An account of the poisonous effects of the use of glazed earthen ves-
 sels, by W. Meade, Esq." New-England Journal, vol. 2, p. 258. 
320
MINERAL  POISONS.
of them, a thin crust of acetate of lead was seeu cover-
ing its internal surface.*
  Milk  has  also acted on vessels of this description.
  The adulteration of wines by lead appears to be an
old devise, and  it  has been much used,  since it de-
stroys their austerity,  gives them a sweet taste,  and
renders  them saleable.
  Beckmann supposes that the ancients were acquain-
ted  with  the  fact, that lead rendered  h rsh  wines
milder ;  for Pliny remarks, that when the Greek and
Roman  wine merchants  wished to try wiiether their
wine was  spoilt,  they immersed in it a plate of lead,
which could only be to observe whether by  corrosion
the colour of the lead was changed.
   It was not until  the fifteenth century,  that the use
of lead  in wines  became so  notorious as to call for
prohibitions on the part of governments in Germany,
and the adulteration of this  article appears  to have
been a subject of deliberation at the diet of Rothen-
burg in  1487, and the diet of Worms in  1495.f  In
France, this species of villainy was carried to a great
excess.
   The  Duke of  Wirtemberg, by a decree dated
March 10, 1690, declared it capital to mix litharge in
wine, or even to sell litharge in the shops. J   And in-
dividuals  were punished with death for the  infraction
of this decree.
   At the present day, we have every reason to  be-
lieve that the sugar of lead is frequently employed by
unprincipled dealers. ||
   Cider,  adulterated  by lead, has also  frequently
proved injurious,  and indeed to such an extent, that
the  disease known by the  name of the Devonshire

  * Amer. Med. Recorder, vol.1, p. 504.  See also a paper on the danger
of using vessels of lead, copper or brass, in dairies, by Mr. Thomas Hayes,
 Surgeon, Hampstead, in the Repertory of Arts, 1st series, vol. 7, p. 116.
  t Beckmann on Inventions, vol. 1, p. 396.
  X Trans. Col. Phys. London, vol. 1, p. 346.
  || Thirty-two cases occurred in the Duke of Newcastle's family, then in
 Hanover,  in  1752, occasioned by their using as a common drink, a small
white wine, adulterated with calces of lead.  Dr. Warren, in Traus. Col.
 Phv=. London, vol. 2, p. Pfi. 
MINERAL POISONS.
321
 Colic,  has been deemed to originate from this cause.
 I am aware that other causes have been assigned, but
 it is sufficient  for my present purpose, that this fluid,
 among others, has excited the  symptoms in question.
 Aud it is certainly well  established, that  cider boiled
 in leaden vessels, has produced death to those drink-
 ing it, and that the racking of it in a leaden cistern, or
 even the grinding of the apples in troughs  which are
 united by lead,  has been the origin of serious ill-
 ness.*
   Rum is also another  liquor which may act on lead.
 Dr.  John Hunter mentions, that a violent  colic pre-
 vailed extensively among the  soldiers  at Jamaica in
 1781-2.  They were in the habit of drinking rum, and
 suspecting its  purity, he was led to examine it.   The
 result of his experiments induced him to believe that
 it was contaminated with lead.f  Dr.  Franklin  also
 communicated a curious fact to Sir George Baker on
 this point.   About forty years previous, (Sir George's
 paper was read iu 1767,) leaden worms were used in
 Boston for  the distillation of rum.   The consequence
 was so violent to drinkers, and the illness so com-
 mon, that government forbade their use,  and ordered
 worms to be constructed of block-tin.   The dry belly
 ache was much less  heard of afterwards.^
   Even syrups have been clarified  by the acetate of
 lead, and thus contain  a notable  portion of the met-
 al. ||
   Saturnine emanations, are well known to produce
 dangerous disease ;  and these, of course,  most readily
 affect  workers in lead,  as  plumbers, painters, type-
 founders, printers ami potters.   I shall not, however,
 enter on this subject at  present, as  it  can  hardly,  if

   " See the papers of Sir George Baker, and Dr. Warren, in the Trans.
 Col. Phys. London, vols. 1, 2 Si3.
   t Irans. Coll. Phys. London, vol. 3, p. 227.  Med. Comment, vol. 13, p.
 13iv  When the new rum in the West Indies, thus impregnated, has been
 kept in a cask for twelve months, it loses its deleterious qualities. This
'fact is mentioned by Mr. Sylvester, and by him applied to the discovery of
 a new test—the gallic acid.  See Eclectic Repertory, vol. 4, p. 454.
   X Trans. Coll. Phys. London, vol. 1, p. 286.
   || Orfila, vol. 1, p.  454
VOL.  II
41 
322
MINERAL  POISONS.
ever, be a subject of legal investigation, and particu-
larly because  it can be examined  with most advan-
tage when we  treat of the diseases of manufacturers,
in the part relating to medical police.*
   It will be proper,  however,  to give a short sketch
of the symptoms produced  by the gradual introduc-
tion of small quantities of lead  into the system.  This
will illustrate the effects  of  adulterated food and
drink, and also those produced by emanations, or by
working in the metal.
   Colic is  among the earliest symptoms,  and from
this circumstance,  the complaint has been styled for
a length of time, colica pictonum.   It  is not acute  at
first, nor of long duration, but frequently returns, aud
at last becomes intolerably  severe.   The mouth  i»
dry, there is generally an absence of fever ; sickness
of the stomach is  present, and sometimes vomitina
which  will last for several days.  The abdomen  is \
drawn inwards towards the navel,  and this  sinking
in is  the more observable, as the pain becomes  more
intense.   Costiveness is very common, and the alvine
excretions  are  discharged with  pain and difficulty.^
The urine presents no particular character.          :i
  Paralysis of the fingers, hands and wrists, is also
a frequent accompaniment of this disease,  and it oc-
curs most severely in those  who are in the constant
practice of  handling preparations of lead.   Convul-
sive motions, prostration of strength,  a dry cough,
and a gradual wasting, generally attend this stage of
the complaint.
  It has been observed by some writers, that the ap
pearances found on dissection in those who have fal-
len victims  to saturnine emanations, are strongly in-
dicative of disease—exhibiting inflammation or ob-

 * The following, however, deserves quotation in this place. It is extract
ed from the late work of Dr. Cooke on palsy.  " Dr. Cooke was consulted
by a' gentleman  who had a paralytic affection of one side of his face, with-
out any assignable cause.  On inquiry, however, it was found that he had
slept two or three nights in a room where the bed was placed near a closeL
the door of which had been recently painted what is called a dead white.
Medico-Chirurg. Review, vol. 1, p. 736, Amer. ed. 
                    MINERAL POISONS.             323

    struction of the mesentery and its glands—affections
    of the liver,  spleen and lungs—and inflammation of
    the intestines.   Most of these are, however, contra-
    dicted by modern examiners, and it is denied, that in
    general any inflammation is found in the digestive ca-
    nal.   A contraction of the diameter of the great intes-
    tines, particularly ofthe colon, is the only morbid ap-
    pearance that was observed in numerous dissections.*

                    Chemical proofs.

     Acetate of lead,   (a)  Sulphuric acid poured
   on it, decomposes this  salt, and gives a  white precip-
*  itate of sulphate of lead, while the acetic acid is set
i  at liberty, and  may be detected by the smell.
     (b)  Sulphuretted hydrogen, and  the  hydro-sul-
   phurets, immediately blacken the solution of the ace-
>,-  tate of lead, and throw down  a black sulphuret.
     (c) The sub-carbonate of soda instantly decomposes
'  it, and precipitates from it protoxyd of lead, combined
   with carbonic acid. It is of a white colour.  This
 £•  test is  much more exact than the former in detecting
   minute  quantities.   One drop  of the solution of the
   acetate of lead, diluted with three ounces of distilled
   water,  was immediately rendered  turbid  by a few
   drops of a solution of the sub-carbonate of soda. The
   hydro  sulphurets  produced  no effect on  the same
   quantity.  The white precipitate  thus obtained, on
   being treated with sulphuretted water, turns black.
     (d) Sulphate of soda gives a  white precipitate.
   This is also a very  minute test.
     (e) Ammonia produces a white precipitate,  which
   when washed and  dried, acquires a yellowish tinge.
     (/)  Chromic acid and the chromate of potash pro-
   duce a beautiful canary yellow precipitate.
     (g) Muriatic acid and the muriates, a white preci-
   pitate.
     (h) A  plate of zinc immersed in  the  solution, be-
   comes covered with a black coat, on which are soon
Orfila, vol. 1, p. 476 
324
MINERAL POISONS.
perceived some small scales of lead, extremely bril-
liant.
   (i) The infusion of galls gives  a yellowish white
precipitate.   Gallic acid, in  a pure state, is recom-
mended by Mr. Sylvester as a very delicate test; it
causes a similar precipitate.*
   (k) If  the precipitates be dried,  or the  suspected
substance be in powder, they may each of them he
united with potash and charcoal, and exposed to heat
in a crucible.   If lead be actually present, it will be
found in a metallic state after the process.
   This mode of detection applies equally to all  the
oxides of lead, as litharge and minium.  On being
calcined with charcoal, they become decomposed, and
furnish carbonic acid gas and metallic lead.
   The action of  animal and vegetable fluids on  the
 acetate of lead,  must also  be mentioned.  A strong
infusion  of  tea  produced a yellowish white precipi-
tate,  Burgundy wine decomposes the solution, and
the  mixture thus obtained, produces the characteristic
tests of acetate of lead, with the sulphuric and chro-
mic acid, the hydro-sulphurets, the subcarbonate of
soda, and zinc/  Ammonia, however, produces a dirty
yellow turbidness, instead of a white precipitate, aud
it is therefore not  to be depended on in testing adul-
terated wines. Albumen produces an abundant white
precipitate.   Gelatine does not  affect it, while milk
and bile are copiously coagulated by it.t
   For the detection of lead in wines, a test invented
by Dr. Hahnemann, and known by the title of Hahn-
emann's wine test,  has also been recommended.   It
is prepared  by putting together into a small phial,
 sixteen grains of sulphuret  of lime,  prepared in  the
 dry way, and twenty grains of cream of tartar.   The
 phial is  to be filled with water, well corked, and oc-
 casionally  shaken for the  space   of  ten minutes.
 When the powder has subsided, decant the clear li-
quor, and preserve it in a well-stopped bottle for use,

  * Eclectic Repertory, vol. 4, p. 454, from Nicholson's Journal.
   Orfila, vol.1, p. 448 to 450. 
MINERAL POISONS.
325
This liquor, when fresh prepared, discovers lead by
a dark-coloured precipitate.*
  Antidotes.   From the experiments  of Orfila it ap-
pears, that the sulphates of soda and magnesia are the
most useful remedies against the noxious effects of
the salts of lead.  They decompose the acetate in par-
ticular, and transform it into  an insoluble sulphate of
lead, which Orfila considers innoxious.    He recom-
mends the same treatment for the  other  preparations.
We  should aid their operation by  diluents and pur-
gatives, and prevent any tendency to inflammation by
the antiphlogistic treatment.
  The treatment of colica pictonum, does not require
a notice in  this place.
  The sulphuret of potash should never be adminis-
tered as an antidote, since it  is (as we shall hereafter
shew) itself a poison.
  Having  concluded our examination  of the older
metals and their compounds,  as  instruments of poi-
son,  we shall now briefly notice two other simple bo-
dies, which have been made the subject of experiment
by Orfila.
  Phosphorus,  when dissolved in oil and injected
into  the jugular vein, instantly produced copious ex-
halations of phosphorous acid.  The respirtaion was
difficult aud  panting,  aud considerable quantity of
a bloody serosity was thrown up, and death followed
in twenty minutes after the injection.   The lungs, on
dissection exhibited several livid and  dense portions ;
the stomach was natural,  and the left ventricle ofthe
heart contained blood as black and fluid as that which
filled the right.   When phosphorus  is introduced in
small lumps into the stomach, it does not at first in-
duce any remarkable effect, but the animal falls grad-
ually into a state of depression  and  dies.  The sto-
mach is much inflamed,  and contaius a thick green-
ish fluid.   In an experiment where  our  author ad-

  * Henry's Chemistry, vol. 2, p. 275.  Orfila, in his Directions, gives mi-
nute directions for the detection of lead in wines.  They are, however,
merely repetitions of the tests stated above. 
326
MINERAL POISONS.
ministered one  hundred  and  forty grains in  small
lumps to a dog,  one hundred and twenty-seven only
were found after death, in varions parts of  the intes-
tines.
  The action of this substance is infinitely  more vio-
lent, when it is introduced into the stomach,  in a state
of solution with  oil.  Fumes of phosphorous  acid were
exhaled from the lungs, and the subject seemed to
suffer exquisite torture.   It then lay  immovable, but
about six minutes before he expired, general and vio-
lent convulsions occurred.  The stomach was corro-
ded in three places, and the mucous membrane where
it had not been perforated,  was reduced to a stringy
kind of pulp.  The lungs were  red, distended with
blood, and did not crepitate.
  Treatment.   As inflammation is  evidently the con-
sequence of the exhibition of phosphorus, we should
of course use the appropriate remedies  for  removing
it.  An emetic must be premised to remove, if possi-
ble, the poisonous ingredient,  and water containing
magnesia in a state of  suspension, is also advised, as
tending to fill the stomach with fluid,  aud at the. same
time neutralizing the acid  that is forming.*
  Iodine.  Orfila is the  first  who tried any experi-
ments with this  substance.   He found  that dogs, if
they vomited freely,  survived,  although they had  ta-
ken a drachm and upwards of it,  but when this did
not occur, or if the cesophagus was tied, it invariably
proved  fatal,  after exciting violent efforts  to vomit,
hiccup,  thirst, quick pulse and great depression.  The
mucous  membrane of the  stomach was  always found
corroded and ulcerated, but the  lungs  and other or-
gans were natural.
  Our author was able in some cases to detect the
iodine in the matter vomited and passed by stool. On
drying and exposing it  to heat, the violet  coloured
vapour appeared.

 * Orfila, vol. 1, p. 405 to 414.  It is stated by Dr. Thomson, that if phos-
phorus be allowedto stand in water  for some time, it will render that fluid
poisonous to animals that drink it.  Annals, vol. 16, p. 232. 
MINERAL POISONS.
327
   A drachm and twelve grains were sprinkled on a
wound on the back of a dog.   The skin immediately
grew  yellow, and in three days, an- eschar formed,
leaving the  subjacent  parts  highly  inflamed.  The
animal however recovered.
   Our author next ascertained the effect of iodine on
the human subject.   He himself took two grains fast-
ing, but  they only excited  an abominable  taste, and
nausea.   The  next morning, he  took  four grains.
He was immediately sensible of constriction and  heat
in the throat, which continued a quarter of an hour, and
he soon vomited yellow liquid matter, in which iodine
was readily discovered.  Two days  after he took six
grains, which instantly excited heat and constriction
of the throat, nausea, irritation, salivation and pain of
 stomach, and in ten minutes, copious bilious vomit-
ings  and  slight  colic pains, which yielded to two
emollient  enemata,  after having continued an hour.
 The  pulse rose from  70 to 90 and was  fuller.   The
 next  day he felt only  a slight fatigue*

                      the acids.

    Sulphuric  acid.    That  this substance should
 sometimes be the cause of death, may readily be con-
 jectured, but it requires some acquaintance with hu-
 man  folly and wickedness, to believe that it  could be
 thought of, as  the instrument of  suicide, and even of
 murder.   Such is however, too certainly the fact.f

   * Orfila vol l,p. 490. Dr. Coindet, of Geneva, has lately exhibited this
 substance'in bronchocele.  His prescription is thirty-six grains of the hy-
 droiodate of potash, and ten grains of iodine dissolved in  an ounce of dis-
 tilled water  From six to ten drops are at first prescribed three times a
 dav and the dose is increased or diminished according to the effects pro-
 duced  The following symptoms have been occasionally observed by him
 from its use   " Acceleration of the pulse, palpitation, dry cough, watch-
 fulness, marasmus and prostration of strength ;—sometimes swelling of the
 legs tremors, painful hardness ofthe bronchocele,  diminution of the breasts
 or a remarkable augmentation of appetite supervene ; and he adds, that in
  almost all the  instances which he has observed,  to the number of five or
  six a very rapid diminution,  or a disappearance more or less complete has
  taken place during these  symptoms, even  in hard, bulky and old bron-
  choceles "  Quarterly Journ. Foreign Med. and Surg. vol. 3, p. 348.
   + In January, 1808, a female was tried and convicted at Edinburgh, tor
  the murder of her natural child, aged eighteen  month".  It was proved 
328
MINERAL POISONS.
  The following are some cases illustrative of its ef-
fects :
  Joseph Parangue, a soldier, about the end of Jan-
uary, 1798, between seven and eight in the morning,
swallowed by mistake, a glass of sulphuric acid, ima-
gining it to be brandy.  He drank if off at once, with
his head back, and poured it from a distance  into his
mouth.   By this means, he did not discover his mis-
take until he drew his breath.    He  was instantly
conveyed to the hospital, and Dr. Desgranges  being
at hand, he immediately saw him.  Excessive  vom-
iting, convulsive agitations of the muscles of the face,
violent cramp  in the stomach, and an acrid burning
heat in the throat and cesophagus were present.  The
body was icy cold ; the pulse small, concentrated and
irregular, and the breathing difficult.   The carbonate
of magnesia suspended in water, was  administered
with considerable relief; and although vomiting re-
turned once, yet by the continuance of this remedy,
the anxiety and pain diminished, the  pulse rose, and
a genial heat  was diffused over the body.  The anti-
phlogistic regimen and  diluents were subsequently
required to remove the consequences of this potation.
The whole  of the mouth and throat was found on  the
subsequent day, excoriated and covered with eschars,
the epiglottis swelled, and on the fourth day, a slough
from the uvula,  almost threatened suffocation.   This
gradually came away and he finally recovered,  but a
painful sensibility of the throat and stomach remained
for a length  of time, especially when he ate hastily,
oi\used food that was indigestible.*
  A female swallowed some  for the purpose  of des-
troying  herself, and in  four hours thereafter was
brought to  the  Hotel Dieu.   Pain, coldness  of the
skin, constipation and inquietude were  present, with

that she had poured a quantity of oil of vitriol down its throat, pretending
that she was giving it raw sugar.  Violent retchings and vomiting  imme-
diately ensued, and it died in a few hours.   Edinburgh Annual Register,
.•ul. 1, part 2, page 4.
  O'lila vol. 1. p. 315 Fodere: vol. 4; p. 96 
MINERAL POISONS.
329
copious and repeated vomitings of a deep blue colour-
ed  and glairy fluid.  Proper remedies  were given,
but the symptoms increased in severity.   On the se-
cond day, the face appeared greatly deranged, the cold
on the surface increased, the pulse became insensible
in the wrists, and carotids ; the breath was extremely
fcetid ; a few drops of very high coloured urine esca-
ped from time to  time, and the disquietude  and agi-
tation were extreme.  She could not bear any kind
of covering, and  the region of the stomach was  ex-
quisitely sensible to the slightest touch.  On the fourth
day, she was incapable of resting a  single instant in
the same position,  and rose up,  for the purpose of
going to a cold place.   Death finally relieved her on
the fifth day, and  she  preserved her reason to  the
last*
  In  one  case quoted from Tulpius, a miliary erup-
tion appeared over the whole body, in addition to the
ordinary symptoms.
  Its effects on an infant are illustrated by an instance
that occurred  to Dr. Bateman.  A mother, by mis-
take,  administered about a teaspoonful to her child,
aged  two and a half years.   This was at half past
four, P. M.  She immediately excited vomiting by
putting her finger in the child's throat, and the matter
brought up resembled coffee grounds.  It seemed to
suffer little pain  except  when vomiting, which occa-
sioned crying, and it died easily, aud almost unper-
ceived, at nine the same evening f
  These cases (particularly the first  and  second) give
a full view of the symptoms ordinarily observed, and
it is therefore not necessary to repeat them.
  Appearances on dissection.   In the case of  the fe-
male related  by Tartra, the abdominal viscera were
for  the most part cedematous,  and the coats of the
duodenum were  in several points nearly dissolved.
The stomach externally showed great distention, was

  * Orfila, vol. 1, p. 320, quoted from Tartra.
  \ Edinburgh ?Ied. and Sun?. Journal, vol. 10, p. 257
    vol. IT.              42 
330              MINERAL POISONS.
of a dark colour, and exhibited several spots indica-
tive of deep disorganization.  The mucous membrane
of the cesophagus was burnt, blackish and partly de-
tached.   The stomach   contained a  dark  and very
foetid fluid, similar to what she had  vomited,  and it
was much thickened in  some points,  and corroded  in
others.   The  internal  coat was  entirely dissolved,
and reduced to a state of mucus throughout the  great-
est part of  its  extent.   The  pylorus presented the
most decided marks of disorganization ; its coats were
black  and puffed up,  and almost closed the orifice.
The duodenum and  jejunum  were partly destroyed
and burnt, and attacked with sphacelus, and the whole
of the intestinal canal partook more or less of the in-
jury-
   In  Dr.  Bateman's case, the omentum  was  seen
converted into  a black  pulpy mass, but still possess-
ing sufficient tenacity to retain  the food which had es-
caped from the stomach.  There  was also in the
omentum a small quantity of dark-coloured fluid,  si-
milar to what had  been vomited.  In the  stomach,
there was an erosion or aperture about three inches in
diameter, bordered  by thickened edges  of a  dark-
brown  cinder-like appearance.   The  cesophagus,
with  the exception of a slight purple blush, showed
no  marks of disease.   There  was an appearance of
inflammation towards the cardia, but  none towards
the pylorus.  The intestines  were free from inflam-
mation,  although  they  were  strongly  marked  with
transverse corrugated rings.*

  "Two additional cases of poisoning with sulphuric acid, (one. an net of
suicide, and the other accidental,) are quoted from a German journal in the
London Med Repository, vol. 14, p. 160. Death ensued in the first case
after a few hours. On dissection, the cranium,  lungs and pericardium,
were generally healthy. The cesophagus was internally whitish,  and the
shrivelled epidermis but loosely connected with the subjacent muscles.
—the diaphragm brownish, very  soft,and in some places much corroded—
the omentum nearly destroyed.  The stomach of a dirty brown colour,
tore on the slightest touch ; contained fluid of a sourish and somewhat ca-
daverous smell, and brown colour, and mixed with white caseous matter,
and blackish coagulated blood.
  This fluid was passed through filtering paper, and then imparted a red
colour to litmus paper.  A solution of muriate of barytes dropped into an- 
                    MINERAL POISONS.                33l


   In  what  may  be  styled  a chronic  case,  where a

quack had  administered some sulphuric acid and oil,

difficulty of drinking,  speaking,  and even breathing,

occurred during life.   The  deglutition of  fluids was

impracticable,  and  an elastic gum sound  was  intro-

duced,  in order to enable  the patient to take a little

nourishment.   This  gave present relief, but in a short

time she became unable  to  bear  its introduction, and

was reduced to  chew  watery  vegetables  to  quench

her thirst.    The  smallest quantity of fluid threatened

immediate death.   Debility,  marasmus and  oedema,

soon followed, and she finally  expired  at the end  of

several months  after taking the mixture.


other portion, produced a white precipitate, which was wholly soluble in
pure nitric acid ; and hence sulphate of barytes.  To  a third portion was
added a solution of nitrate of lead ; from this immedia ely resulted a white
precipitate, again soluble iu  the supernatant liquid.  Consequently, as de-
monstrating sulphate of lead, it confirmed the evidence of the first experi-
ment, and clearly proved the presence of sulphuric acid in the contents of
the stomach.
  The coats ofthe organ itself  were scarcely recognizable ; in some places
very thick,  with coagulated blood extravasated between them ;  in others
dark brown, much corroded, exhibiting as it were gangrenous spots; and
their whole substance extremely soft and lacerable.  The internal mem-
brane of the small intestines shrivelled, and the valvulae conniventes pro-
jecting one on the other, so as  to close the whole canal. The mucous coat
of the larse intestine also white and wrinkled up, but otherwise unaltered.
Pancreas''sound. Liver externally discoloured; every where  very firm
and compact; its external surface cutting like leather to the depth ot some
lines, and of a brown colour ; internal structure bright red   Gall-bladder,
its membranes considerably thickened, containing a thin and almost colour-
less fluid, and  bright yellow bile strongly adherent to the blood-vessels,
which projected on its internal surface.  Spleen firmer than natural,  and
resembling  on incision, the liver.  The kidneys  except that they presented
a leather-like surface, unaltered.   Urinary bladder empty.        ...,„„
  The second case is peculiarly interesting,  as the  patient survived  two
months.   On examination,  the body was so emaciated, hat   the cellular
Sembrane,  in the intervals ofthe muscles, appeared quite empty, and the
Eu"les themselves projected distinctly beneath the s!c.n.  flie bones, w. h
al thei prominences, perfectly visible.  The teeth  firm ;  f«™» of a pale
blue colSnr; tongue yellowish  white; nostrils dry, and widely dilated.
The bet so'sur,k°in, tLt its parietes seemedI completey drawn  together
and the navel to rest upon the spine.   Anus closed.   Liv id specks ooservea
  %,J i^inai region only. No trace of external injury— Mdomen. Adi-
noVe lu  f ance Sctely absorbed.  Omentum merely a delicate trans-
pose buim.uii^   ; •    7    witi. vesSeIs   L ver uncommonly small, ot
£ad.£ browo^d'^rGX^SrdLndBd with  bile.   Spleen of a
ortlu     "or  leS colour.  Transverse colon low down ;  and greatest
nortion of the small  intestines deeper than usual  in the pelvis   All the
£«, u in die vfcinity of  the gall-bladder, the peritoneum and muscles, of a
flark  own coloi?  No traces of inflammation.  The stomach was so con,
t^rtom^ but five inches long and three  deep.  Its membranes 
332
MINERAL POISONS.
   On dissection, the sole lesion observed, was a hard-

ening of the epiglottis,  in  consequence of  which, it

did not close more than half of the glottis.*

   Effect on animals.   It  would certainly seem un-

necessary  to  ascertain the effects of  the injection of

sulphuric acid into the veins, since, so far as  1 can

ascertain, no practical  purpose is to be gained by it.f

Orfila  has  however  instituted  some  experiments in

this  way.   It caused  instant  death, by  coagulating

the blood.   When  introduced into  the stomach,   it

killed by the inflammation and disorganization of that

organ,  and when  applied  to the  skin,  by the burn

that it produced,  or the  suppuration of which  it was

the consequence.
   The other acids (nitric,  muriatic, phosphoric, flu-

oric, &c.)  acted in a similar  manner.   It  will there-

fore not be necessary to notice this head again, unless

there is something peculiar to be mentioned.

   Chemical proofs.    These  will afford but little aid,


every where, but especially in  the vicinity ofthe cardia and pylorus, con-
siderably thickened ; the orifice of the latter scarcely four lines wide,  but
its circumference thickened, and of cartilaginous hardness.  On the villous
coat ofthe organ, and near the pylorus, several small, red, firm, granulated
spots, with elevated margins, which had the  aspect of incipient carcinom?,
and evidently indicated the operation of a corrosive fluid.  In the pylorus
itself, cardia, and great curvature ofthe stomach, similar  spots ; but those
in the two latter situations smaller, and less red.  One in the fundus of tlie
organ, of a greenish-blue colour, and two inches in circumference, exhibit-
ing several small vessels much  gorged with blood.  A bluish  patch on the
external surface corresponding  to it.  The duodenum  in the same state as
the stomach, but more strongly marked, the  nearer it approached that or-
 fan. The villous coat  of the  small intestines exhibiting very firm wrin-
 les, disposed  in rows.  Membranes of jejunum and inferior portion of
ileon extenuated; their blood-vessels, as it were, injected, and villous coat
much wrinkled. Large intestines displaying these changes in the slightest
degree, and containing some bright-yellow excrement.  Kidneys firm and
small. Bladder empty and contracted,  Gall-bladder affording a consider-
able quantity of dark-green thick bile.— Thorax. Lungs collapsed, marbled
with red  and blue.  Pericardium  very firm, and containing a quantify of
fluid.  Heart large; little blood in the ventricles, especially  the left;  au-
ricles empty.  Oesophagus thickened,  but without inflammation or corro-
sion.—Cranium. Clear lymph  beneath the dura mater, diffused over  the
whole brain.  The same, coagulated, beneath the tunica arachnoidea, and
all the cerebral vessels much gorged.   Small quantity of fluid in the lateral
ventricles.  Basis of brain natural."
  * Pelletan, vol. l.p.19.
  t And particularly as Fracassati performed the same experiments, with
similar results, one hundred and fifty years ago.  See Phil. Trans, vol. 2.
  490. 
                MINERAL POISONS.             333

since the sulphuric acid can seldom be obtained in a
liquid form from  the stomach after death.   Should
its presence however, be  suspected in the fluids vom-
ited,  we may treat it with carbonate of lime.  This
causes an effervescence,  and the production of sul-
phate of  lime.   Barytic water  and nitrate  of  lead
when added,  also yield  a white precipitate,  consist-
ing of the respective sulphates, whose character must
be ascertained by their appropriate tests.   Our main
reliance for proofs must be on the  symptoms and the
appearances on  dissection.   And if any remains of
the poison can be  found and identified, we may ascer-
tain its nature by means which are familiar to every
chemical  student.
   Some of the succeeding results may tend to eluci-
date the phoenomena found on dissection.
  Syrups and tea  are not affected by the sulphuric acid.
It brightens  the  colour of wine.  Gelatine becomes
more limpid with it,  but albumen is copiously preci-
pitated  of a white colour.  Milk is instantly curdled.
One or  two drops poured on human bile, causes  a
beautiful precipitate of a yellow colour, aud  this ap-
pearance is sometimes seen on dissection  in the duo-
denum  from  the above cause.   Lastly,  when mixed
with  fluid blood, it coagulates  and decomposes it,
and if the acid is concentrated,  it turns  it to a deep
brown and carbonizes it.*
  Treatment.   Water containing  calcined magnesia
in suspension, must be instantly administered,  or if
this cannot be procured, soap and water or chalk and
water.  The caustic must thus be neutralized, or the
patient  is lost.   The  subsequent treatment must de-
pend on the degree of inflammation present.
  Nitric acid.   We are indebted  to Dr. Tartra of
Paris, for an able and  comprehensive essay on this

  * Orfila, vol. 1,  p. 310,311. It is also proper to immerse portions of
animal flesh in sulphuric acid, and observe whether their appearance re-
sembles that found  on the dead body. This was the mode pursued by- Dr.
Bateman,  and with a satisfactory result.  The black colour and pulpy con-
sistence, were not produced by other caustics  Edin. Med. and Surs-;. Jour.
vol. 10, p. 257. 
334             mineral  poisons.
 substance as a poison.   And from the extracts given
 by Orfila,  and a most instructive analysis contained
 in  the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical  Journal, I
 have taken the following particulars.*
   Dr. Tartra arranges the cases of poisoning by ni-
 tric acid into four classes.   " 1. When the death is
 speedy,  for it is never sudden.  It commonly takes
 place from the primary effects in about twenty-four
 hours, varying from six to forty-eight hours.  2. When
 it proves fatal from  its secondary effects,  at various
 distances of time, from fifteen  days to some  years.
 3.  When death does not take place, but the recove-
 ry is imperfect.  4.  When a perfect cure is sooner or
 later obtained.
   1. The following example will give a tolerable idea
 of the progress of the symptoms in the first case.  A
 man driven by distress to commit suicide,  under the
 greatest agitation of mind, and upon an empty stom-
 ach, swallowed at a draught, two ounces  of concen-
 trated nitric acid.   Instantly he was seized with the
 most excruciating pains and agitations, and could not
 lie in bed, but rolled himself upon the floor.   Vomit-
 ing came on, accompanied by  general sensation of
coldness, especially in the extremities.  Every time
he vomited, the matter effervesced upon the pavement.
He got a solution of soap and oil.   In two hours he
was brought to the hospital; and  upon the road he
frequently vomited and stopped to drink.   On his ar-
rival, he got emollient drinks, especially linseed tea,
in great abundance   He was in continual agitation,
and his countenance very much altered.  He vomited
every instant a blackish glairy matter.  He opened
his mouth easily,  and his tongue was white, with a
tinge of yellow.  He had acute pains in his mouth,
along the oesophagus, and iu his stomach.  His belly
slightly tense, could not bear the slightest pressure, it
so excessively augmented his pains.   The surface of

  " Orfila, vol. 1,  p. 329 to 360 ; vol. 2, p. 560.  Edin. Med. and Surg.
Jour. vol. 9, p. 369.  Review of " Traite de I'empoisonnementpar I'acide ni-
friqve.par A E. Tartra, medicin.  Parir, 1802." 
                MINERAL POISONS.             335

his body was cold ; his pulse small, concentrated and
frequent; he had hiccup, and his respiration was la-
borious.    His  symptoms increased.   He uttered
sighs  and  lamentations.  His limbs became icy ;  a
cold sweat covered  his  whole body ; his  pulse was
almost imperceptible,  and  the  pain was constant.
Still he could rise,  and make continual and useless ef-
forts to  quench his thirst, and satisfy his  urgent de-
sire to make water and go to stool.  He continued in
this state during the night.  The matter vomited be-
came more clear, and of a yellow colour.   He at last
made  a few drops  of urine.   The shocking appear-
ance of his body already resembled that of a corpse,
but he retained his senses, and  was  speaking  when
he expired, nineteen  hours after swallowing the  acid.
  The burning heat  and pains which are  commonly
the immediate effects of nitric acid, when swallowed,
present striking contrasts.  In general,  they are not
in proportion to the quantity or strength of the acid
swallowed.   Often,  persons  who have taken only a
small dose, are seized with the most excruciating and
dreadful  pains, and some of those who have swallow-
ed a great quantity, two or three  ounces for example,
have had scarcely  any suffering, but remained very
tranquil.  In the first case, the patients either recov-
er or  survive a  long time.  In  the second, speedy
death  is  almost always the  consequence.  Thus a
young  man of twenty died in twenty hours, without
any agitation or signs of acute pain.   On opening the
body, the highest degree of disorganization  appeared;
perforations of the stomach, and great effusion of its
contents into the abdomen.
  A woman said she had taken  nitric acid,  but she
seemed so little affected by it, that many thought she
was  imposing on them.   There  was no agitation, uo
pains or vomiting,  but the smallness of the pulse, las-
situde and prostration of strength, rather indicated  a
typhus fever. Next day she died; and on examining
the body, there was found the greatest degree of dis-
organization that nitric acid is capable of producing, 
336
MINERAL POISONS.
perforation  of stomach, gangrenous spots,  effusion
into the abdomen, marked corrosion of all the viscera,
and general yellow colour.
  Eut when  the acid,  from  deficient  quantity or
strength,  only acts on the mucous membranes, then it
does not  always prove fatal;  but  the p.\ins are ex-
cessive, the colic dreadful.  In the one case, the seu-
sibility seems to be annihilated : in the other, excited
in the highest  degree.   Here, as on many other oc-
casions, the pain is to a certain  degree proportionate
to the severity ofthe affection, but after a certain point
it seems rather to be in an inverse ratio.
  In fifty-six cases,  death from the primary effects
took place in nineteen.
  2. The second variety of the progress and termi-
nation of  poisoning  by nitric acid,  exhibits  at  first,
the same  phenomenon  as the preceding. But  less
alarming  symptoms  succeed by degrees,  anxiety, ir-
regular fever,  dryness of the  skin,  spasmodic con-
striction of the extremities,  wandering vague pains,
deep and  difficult inspirations, dryness of the tongue
and throat,  excessive thirst,  deep pain in the region
of the stomach,  habitual tension of the abdomen, ob-
stinate costiveness, vomiting less frequent, a kind of
copious salivation, uneasiness in the throat from the
imperfect  detachment of the flakes of the membrane
lining it,  portions of  it still partially adhering,  fre.
quently floating in the pharynx, and disturbing both
respiration and deglutition.
• The pulse is often miserable, and the slow fever
has no remission ; the cold continues over the surface
ofthe body,  and there are irregular fits  of shivering
occasionally.   Every kind of food, solid or liquid, is
vomited.  Milk alone seems to agree with the stom-
ach.  After some time,  the  inner  membrane of the
alimentary canal detaches  itself in portions, which
are discharged by vomiting,  with floods of frothy and
intolerably foetid saliva.   Membranous flakes,  swel-
led,  rotten, and  often of a very great size,  are fre-
quently pulled out of  the mouth.  This state lasts, in 
                MINERAL POISONS.             ^37

some cases,  only about a fortnight, generally several
months, and occasionally for years.   But these per-
sons uniformly fall into complete marasmus.   Diges-
tion is totally deranged.  The stomach  can bear no
kind of food.  All the functions languish.
  The constipation  increased to such a degree, that
whole months pass without a single alvine evacuation.
These invalids will go to the close-stool twenty times
a day, to satisfy their urgent desire to have a stool,
and in the course of three months, only pass once or
twice small  masses of feculent matter,  formed like
pills, of a few grains in weight.   Injections  are of no
use, but are frequently retained,  and sometimes do
harm.
   Instead of  amending, their situation grows  daily
worse.   Insupportable to themselves, inconstant and
impatient, they seek in vain for relief.  Emaciated in
the greatest degree, they resemble walking skeletons.
Their whole  appearance is revolting—spitting every
instant,  vomiting  continually, or their lips  and chin
covered  with filthy  putrid saliva.   It is difficult to
conceive, how the exfoliation of the oesophagus and
 stomach cau furnish such a quantity of eschars as are
 discharged  by vomiting, aud in some few cases by
 stool during whole months.   Nothing can exceed the
 intolerable fcetor of these putrified membranous flakes.
 Sometimes  when  discharged by the mouth in small
 quantity, they form portions of hollow cylinders, de-
 tached "from the entire circumference of  a part or the
 whole of  the cesophagus,  and in  some rare cases,
 where the whole  internal membrane of  the oesopha-
 gus and stomach has been but slightly and uniformly
 affected,  the whole exfoliates at once,  and even in a
 single piece,  threatening instant suffocation.  Diges-
 tion  being completely  suspended,  the system seems
 to live upon itself, as if the organs of secondary impor-
 tance to life  were absorbed,  to nourish those indis-
 pensable to its continuance.             %  .
   The muscles are considerably reduced in bulk, the
 cellular membrane is every whew sunk, the adipose 
$38             MINERAL  POISONS.
system entirely disappears, and the integuments air
glued upon the bones, exhibiting their rudest forms.
The skin becomes  dry, scaly,  and almost dead and
inert, as in extreme old age.   The physical faculties
are extinct, and the moral faculties are singularly de-
cayed.  There remains only their shadow, as  it were.
The ravages, which in the course of nature, ought to
be the progressive effects of many years, are complet
ed in a few months.  Every thing in  these individu-
als, presents the picture of accidental and premature
old age.  The individual still lives, but is only sepa
rated by an imperceptible interval  from death which
encroaches daily upon the province of life.  A certain
activity of the animal life still remains, when the or-
ganic, remarkably  reduced and decayed, is just about
to cease.
  This variety of the progress and  termination of the
disease, induced by  swallowing nitrous acid, is not
uncommon.   It took  place in seven of the twenty-nine
cases now first described by Dr. Tartra, and he ac-
counts plausibly enough for its having been  seldom
observed before, by supposing, that when persons who
had swallowed nitric acid, had got the  better of the
primary symptoms, they were lost sight of,  and the
subsequent affection was not  imputed to the proper
cause.
  Such in general  is the  progress,  when patients die
ofthe secondary symptoms ;  but in the case of a fe-
male it was considerably different, as well as  the ap-
pearances on dissection.   The constipation was not
very great;  the expectoration did not last long, and
the vomiting was rare; but a fixed pain at the bottom
of the thorax, accompanied by difficulty of breathing,
and spitting of  blood, deceived the medical  attend-
ants who were  not  acquainted with the fact of her
having drunk nitrous acid.   She was treated  as if for
pectoral  complaints, and died in  about sixty  days
after haying swallowed the poison.
  In this case alone, the body was not remarkably
emaciated.  The stomach was only a little contracted 
MINERAL POISONS.
339
and adhered in several places, especially to the liver
and spleen.   It contaiued a mass of solid blood, of a
dark red colour,  the size of a fist, moulded to the
shape of the  stomach, and covered  by a very fine
membrane, which seemed to be either  the mucous
membrane detached from the stomach, in several pla-
ces, or perhaps a membrane of new formation.   The
intestinal canal, in this case, was of  the usual size.
Death seemed to have taken place before the gradual
consumption  had wasted the body.
  8. The third variety of termination is iu imperfect
recovery.   This is also very frequent, and is charac-
terized  by the same train of  symptoms with what
we have now  described, but very inferior in degree.
The exfoliation of the oesophagus and  stomach, either
takes place but once or only a few times.   A slow
and progressive amendment ensures the safety of the
patient.  But there still remains some  complaint: ob-
scure pains in the throat, and especially in the epigas-
tric region ;  habitual constipation, occasional vomit-
ing, and increased sensibility of the stomach, so that
that organ can only support light nourishment and
bland liquors.  In short,  they continue invalids du-
ring the rest  of their  lives ;  they are subject to re-
peated and even  habitual indispositions, and some-
times to pain  and insupportable heat of  the stomach.
But they are able to follow their occupations and long
survive  their  poisoning.    Dr. Tartra has met with
eight examples of this termination of the disease, in
fifty-six cases.
  4.  The total disappearance of the  symptoms pro-
duced by swallowing nitric acid, or complete and ab-
solute recovery without leaving any consequences, is
the last variety of termination.   Of  fifty-six cases,
the recovery seemed to be complete in twenty-one.
  Appearances on dissection.   When  the patients die
of the primary effects of  nitric  acid, the external ap-
pearance of the body presents  no alteration ;  every
part  is sound and natural, and presents in a certain
degree the firmness and freshness of life.  The epi- 
311*             MINERAL POISONS
dermis of the margins of the lips has commonly an
orange colour,  more or less  deep.   It seems burnt,
and separates very easily.  Sometimes yellow spots
are discovered  on the hands and other parts of the
body, caused by the contact of nitrous acid.   A yel-
low fluid,  in some cases very abundant,  flows from
the mouth and nostrils, and the belly is considerably
distended with air.
  The alimentary canal is remarkably affected.   All
the internal membrane of the month is burnt, and  has
sometimes a white, but more commonly a yellow col-
our.  It is separate in some places,  and adheres in
others.   The teeth  are  often loose, and have a very
marked yellow colour at their crown.  The mucous
membrane of the pharynx exhibits the same change,
or is in a state of inflammation of a dirty red colour.
The whole extent of the oesophagus is lined with a
dense mass of a fine yellow colour, dry on its surface,
unctuous and greasy to the touch, and which seems to
be formed both of the mucous membrane, altered in a
particular maimer,  and of the albumen contained in
the viscid fluid which  exudes from the membrane of
the cesophagus, solidified by the nitrous acid.  This
lining adheres in very few points, and is easily de-
tached from the other membranes  of the oesophagus,
which are brown and blood-shot.
  When the stomach is not perforated, it has com-
monly a considerable size.   Externally,  its mem-
branes are  slightly and partially inflamed, but very
much towards  the pylorus, and beginning of  the du-
odenum.  Its colour is  faded,  livid,  of  a yellowish
green, with large gangrenous spots.   It adheres eve-
ry where to the neighbouring parts,  the diaphragm,
liver,  spleen, and transverse  arch of the colon, by
means of a  concrete lymphatic exudation.   Its sides,
which are thin  wid yellow in some places, and thick
and black in others, exhibit networks of dilated blood
vessels,  filled with black coagulated  blood.   Often
there are several points of the stomach dissolved, and
ready to burst with the slightest touch.  It contains 
MINERAL POISONs,
341
a great quantity of gas, which has a particular smell,
resembling that of bitter almonds.  Most commonly,
it also  contains a great  quantity of yellow matter,
having the consistence of pap, in which there are floc-
culi, or small masses resembling tallow, which, how-
ever, may be the cheesy part of the milk drunk by
the patient, decomposed in the stomach.  Its sides are
coated internally  with a thick grained paste, of a yel-
lowish green colour, composed, according to  all ap-
pearance, ofthe internal membrane, disorganized and
dissolved,  and of coagulated albumen   Almost al-
ways the substance of the stomach is swelled in some
places, and deeply marked with black, without being
dissolved   This* effect is most remarkable at the
great end, into which the acid  seems to fall by its
weight.  The rugse  of the stomach are very browiK
and are reduced to mucilage.  They are easily remo-
ved by the finger from the  nervous coat, which, by
reason of its whiteness, often appears in a great meas-
ure  sound.  The small end is affected  with  many-
deep spots of gangrene, and the pylorus is much con-
tracted.
   The duodenum internally, especially at its two cur-
vatures,  presents  the  same kind of change as the
stomach.   Its sides, as well as those of the jejunum.
are  marked  with yellow, slightly greenish.  The;
are  also lined  with a very thick orange crust, and
the  villous membrane is  dissolved and  destroyed.
These phenomena have less intensity in  proportion
as the part is more distant from the stomach.
   The  surface of all the abdominal viscera is com-
monly very much  inflamed. The peritonaeum is thick-
ened, hard, of a dirty  red, covered  with  albuminous
layers, which unite, by numerous adhesions,  all the
Viscera, and especially the folds of  the intestines, as
it were into a single mass.
   The thoracic surface of the diaphragm, and ofthe
inferior lobes of the lungs, is covered with a very sol-
id layer of albumen, of a whitish colour.
   A bloody liquid is effused into the abdomen; there
is also a small quantity iu the chest, 
342
MINERAL POISONS.
   The urinary bladder contains no  urine, although
the patients have not discharged any.  The large in-
testines are usually filled with very hard faeces.
   In most cases where the stomach is perforated, its
bulk is very small; in other respects it is the same.
The holes commonly occur in the large ami small ex-
tremities :  their form is circular, and their edges thin
and as if  dissolved.  We then find in the abdomen
an enormous effusion of a thick yellow liquid,  con-
taining many white flocculi, and resembling the  fluid
with which the stomach is filled, when it is not perfo-
rated.   The greatest distention  always accompanies
this state of the belly.  The alteration and disorgani-
zation are carried to the  highest degree.   The  sur-
face of the abdominal viscera seems to have suffered
the direct action of very dilute nitric acid.   It is grea-
sy and unctuous to  the  touch, and almost every
where spotted with yellow.
   The appearances upon  dissection of those who die
of the secondary effects,  are entirely  different from
those now described.   It  would be difficult to find an
example of greater emaciation, more  advanced  con-
sumption,  or disgusting form.  Nothing is equal to
the degree of withering, drying up and decrepitude of
the whole organs.  Their colour is faded ; the inter-
nal cavities do not contain the usual serum ; the cel-
lular and  muscular systems are almost annihilated  :
the bones become dry, as in persons of advanced  age,
and  break with wonderful facility.   But these chan-
ges are  general and secondary, and  depend upon lo-
cal organic derangement of the alimentary tube.   The
stomach and whole intestinal canal are contracted to
an extremely small size,  so  that they could be con-
tained in the hollow of the hand.  The intestines are
not larger than the little finger, sometimes not exceed-
ing a thick  writing-quill.   Their  coats  are  very
thick, their cavity almost  obliterated, and containing
only a little  mucosity.   In general,  all the parts
touched by the  poison are contracted, and as if oblit-
erated.  The stomach, which often resembles a por- 
MINERAL POISONS.
343
don of a small intestiue, appears sound  externally,
and  only presents some adhesions to the diaphragm,
liver  and spleen ; internally,  the  most remarkable
change is, the contraction ofthe pylorus, the passage
through  which, is  not  larger than a lentil, or  even
scarcely  admits  a probe ;  and the membranes of the
stomach  itself are so thickened  and compacted around
it, that they have lost all their natural suppleness.
   On the internal surface, there are irregular spots,
or rather smooth  and red places,  which seem  to be
covered  with a regenerated mucous membrane, less
vilbius than  that which has  been  destroyed by the
action of the acid.  These cicatrices are especial-
ly large  and numerous in the  great end of the  stom-
ach  and around the circumference of the pylorus.
There are also commonly some at the cardia, as well
as in the lower half, and even the whole of the seso-
phagus and pharynx.   The adhesions of the stomach
with the neighbouring  parts  are sometimes  simple,
but most commonly they are very remarkable. View-
ed from the inside 'of the stomach, they form irregular,
circular  depressions, where  the whole  thickness of
the  coat is  evidently wanting,  so that in attempting
 to destroy these  adhesions, we find that there  are in
 fact so many holes through the substance ofthe stom-
 ach,  which  are plugged up by the adhesion of the
 neighbouring viscera."
   Chemical  proofs.  The usual  effects of  alkalies
 and earths ou this acid, are too well  known to need
 repetition  in  this place.  We shall hence only men-
 tion  its  operatiou on  animal and vegetable  fluids.
 Syrup and gelatine are not disturbed by  it.   The co-
 lour of  tea is heightened  by its addition, and Bur-
 gundy wine acquires a redder colour.  When  added
 to albumen, a w hite precipitate is abundantly pro-
 duced, which after some time becomes  yellow; and
 if this yellow mass be  washed and dried,  and  after-
 wards 'boiled  with a solution of pure potash,  the li-
 quor will  at once become of a  rich red colour, and
 will furnish, bv evaporation, a brown-red mass, com- 
iiU
MINERAL  POISONS.
 posed of animal matter, nitrate of potash, and the ex-
 cess of the alkali employed.  Milk mixed  with this
 acid, is instantly coagulated, and throws down white
 curds, which quickly change to yellow.  Human bile
 brought  in  coutact  with two drops of  it,  gives an
 abundant precipitate of the yellow matter, which ac-
 quires & green colour by the a.Idition of a fresh quan-
 tity of acid, and in  the end becomes of  a brick-red,
 when  a  great quantity of acid is employed.   Fluid
 blood  is  instantly coagulated.
   If the remainder of the poison can be procured, we
 should unite it  with copper filings, when nitrous gas
 will be evolved, and the blue nitrate of copper form-
 ed—also with pure  potash,  as above  directed.  On
 the patient, wiiether living or dead, we  are to notice
 whether any orange-coloured spots are present, either
 on the face, hands,  lips, or mouth ; and in  the latter
 case, if the fluids vomited, or found, do not afford any-
 satisfactory explanation, wc must collect the flaky
 and solid substances.  These  are to  be boiled  for
 three quarters of an  hour iu a solution of pure potash,
 and the liquor is then to be evaporated.  Nitrate of
 potash will be produced, if the poison has been nitric
 acid.*
   Treatment.   The indications, according to Tartra,
 ire two.   1. To moderate the progress ofthe poison,
 that is, to prevent the action of the uncombined por-
 tion.   2.  To remedy  its effects, or the changes pro-
 duced by the portion that has already acted.
   The first  requires the instant administration of an-
 tacids, aided by neutralizing substances, as solutions
 of soap, magnesia diffused through water, &c.   The
 second is to be fulfilled  by means of  demulcents,
 emollients, and antiphlogistic remedies.   Barley-wa-
 ter, whey,  milk diet,  and emollient injections,  are
 chiefly required, and  all  irritating and  stimulating
 substances are to be carefully avoided.f

  ' Orfila, vol. 1, p. 331,3.~>2.
  t Stalpart  mentions the case of a child three years old, who had taken
 ,omc nitnc acid,  which he cured by oil and syrup of violets, and forbid
ding every article of food except lukewarm niillr, .'Vol. J p. 196.)  He
•-juotoj inslnriPC3 treated iu a similar manner 
MINERAL POISONS.
345
    It is not necessary for me to go into any detail con-
  cerning the remaining  acids that have been enume-
  rated as poisons.  Their effects are generally similar
  to those already noticed, except that the characteristic
  colour of  the nitric will be wanting.   The mode of
  treatment  must be similar.  Orfila mentions the  fol-
  lowing as poisons : the muriatic, the phosphoric, the
  fluid  nitrous, the fluoric,  the sulphurous,  and the
  phosphorous.

          CAUSTIC  OR CARBONATED ALKALIES.

     Pure potash,  when  externally applied, is well
  known  to act as  a powerful caustic.   On injecting a
  solution of it  into the  jugular,  it produces sudden
  death ;  and on dissection,  the blood  is found coagu-
  lated.   When swallowed  by an animal, it corrodes
  the stomach, and inflames  its mucous membrane.
     The sub-carbonate of potash, (salt of tartar) is also
  a poison of considerable activity.  A dog to whom
  two drachms  were administered, died  in fifteen  mi-
  nutes, and Plenck mentions a case, where a patient
  in good health took an ounce, which produced violent
  vomiting and gastritis.   Life was,  however, preserv-
*  ed.*  The following are  recent  instances  of its ef-
  fects, and deserve considerable attention.
     Two females,  of the age of  sixteen and twelve,
  each took by mistake half  an ounce of sub-carbonate
  of  potash.   Violent sickness  immediately  ensued,
  but the error was not discovered until two hours  and
  a half afterwards. The vomiting and sickness scarce-
  ly ever ceased entirely  with the elder, and she also
  experienced  pain in the epigastric region.  Leeches
  were  applied, and various curative means,  but with
  little  success.  The vomiting,  though  occasionally
  checked,  yet returned  with violence,  and  she died
  in about two months after  taking it.  The other  suf-
  fered under sickness for three days., and it then ceased,

    'Orfila, vol. l,p.3«r>
      vol. rr.              ** 
346            MINERAL POISONS.
She appeared to grow better, but in a few weeks the
sickness returned, and she  was confined to her bed.
Death ensued  about  three  weeks  after that of her
sister.
  Appearances on dissection.  The  appearances of
disease were similar in both,  although most striking
in the eldest.  The stomach  was much thickened, and
the villous coat was almost  wholly destroyed ;  what
remained, was in a state of  high inflammation.  The
pylorus in one, was much ulcerated, and in the other,
contracted and gangrenous.   The  intestines  were
gangrenous, and adhered together by thin threads of
coagulable  lymph.   The omentum in the  youngest
was almost totally destroyed,  and the glands of the
mesentery for the most part absorbed.  The liver in
both was of a dark green hue,  in consequence of the
transfusion of bile, and the  gall-bladder was distend-
ed with it, probably from the circumstance  that the
biliary ducts were found almost obliterated.
   Both these females had previously been in delicate
 health.*
   The peculiar styptic and urinous taste—a severe heat
 in  the throat—retchings—vomitings of an alkaline
 matter, which commonly effervesces with acids-1—co-
 pious alvine evacuations, accompanied with  violent
 pain,  and injury  of the intellectual  faculties, are
 amoug the leading symptoms produced by this sub-
 stance.
    Orfila suggests that this  alkali,  of all the corrosive
 poisons, is that which most frequently perforates the
 stomach.   It also causes inflammation ofthe different
 coats of this viscus, and of  the intestines.
    The chemical tests  of potash  need hardly to be
 repeated  in this place.  They  can seldom be suc-
 cessfully applied for its detection.
    We may however  remark, that  syrup, tea, alhu-
  meu, gelatine, milk  and bile are not affected by it,
  while red  wine passes to a green on  the addition of
* London Med. Repository, vol. 7, p. 118. 
MINERAL POISONS.
347
a few drops of the solution.   Fluid blood is not coa-
gulated by it, nor indeed by any of the alkalies.  They
on the contrary,  prevent its spontaneous coagulation.
  Antidote.  Vinegar and lemon juice are the most
valuable remedies  for  this  purpose,  and their use
should be aided  by mucilaginous drinks.
  The action  of soda is  precisely similar to  that of
potash, as  is also the mode of treatment necessary to
counteract its effects.
  Ammonia in its liquid  state is extremely  caustic
and pungent.   When injected into the veins, it produ-
ces a stiffuess, resembling tetanus, and violent convul-
sions.   These were soon followed by death.   When
introduced into the stomach, fatal effects also ensued,
and the mucous  membrane of the stomach was found
of a red colour throughout a part of its extent, but no
Ulceration  or perforation was present.
   Cases are mentioned  where the fluid ammonia caus-
ed  death in the human  subject, within the space of a
few minutes.*   And in  a  late work,  Orfila adds a
caution against  its  too  free  use, with persons who
have fainted.   If inspired  too long,  the vapour in-
flames the  throat and lungs, and destroys the individ-
ual, f  The phial containing it should only be passed
from time to time under the nose.
   Vinegar is here also  the proper antidote, although
from the rapid action of the alkali, means are gener-
ally  required in addition  to this, to counteract the in-
flammation that  frequently occurs.

  » Orfila, vol 1 p- 387.                    .....
  t  Orfila's Directions, p. 44. A case confirming this statement is men-
 tioned in a late Journal.  " A patient was recovering from a severe attack
 of fever ; during convalescence he  was without any evident cause, seized
 with convulsions apparently ofthe epileptic kind, which became more and
 more frequent, and ultimately were so severe as to cause great apprehen-
 sion of a fatal result.  In order  to rouse him from the stupor  succeeding
 one of these fits, an attendant most imprudently held aqua ammonia; to his
 nose with such unwearied but  destructive benevolence, that suffocation
 had almost resulted.  As it was, dyspnoea with severe pain in  the throat,
 immediately succeeded, and death took place t0"*:"^™?**™^-
 In the actual condition of the patient, there was little else than death to
 be expected, yet there is equally little room to doubt that the fatal event
 was hastened by this unhappy ministration." Edinburgh Med  and Surg.
 Journal, vol. 14, p. 642. 
348
MINERAL POISONS.
            DARYTES AND ITS  SALTS.

  These are all poisonous.*   The muriate however
acts more violently than either the pure or the carbo-
nated barytes.
  Barytes whether pure or carbonated, when intro-
duced into  the stomach,  produces vomiting, hiccup,
insensibility, convulsions and  death.   The  stomach
was found inflamed throughout its whole extent, and
extravasations of black blood were seen near  the py-
lorus.   The lungs and intestines were natural.f
  Mr. Parkes mentions  that  he visited  the  mine of
carbonate of barytes at  Anglezark, in the county of
Lancaster, and  was  informed by Mr.  Derbyshire,
who occupies the estate on which the mine is situated,
that some years since, he lost three cows at one time,
which had strayed from their pasture and were found
licking some  lumps of the spar, which at that time
lay about the mouth of  the  mine in abundance.  It
was also stated, that  it was impossible to keep any
fowls upon the farm,  as they  mistook the barytes for
white sand.  They were sure to die on the first day,
that they got out upon the land.   Mr.  Parkes also
adds the following quotation from Leigh's History of
Lancashire: " Some have been hardy enough to take
a drachm at one dose, particularly one James  Barnes'
wife and child, and  in  about nine hours afterwards
they expired.  The like quantity in about three hours,
will kill a dog."$
.  Muriate of barytes, when injected into the jugular
vein, caused great agitation  and convulsions,  and
death ensued in six minutes after the operation.   On
dissection, the heart was found distended with coagu-
lated blood—the stomach was  natural, while  the
lungs were crepitating, and rather denser than usual.
  When applied to a wound  in the state of powder,
Mr. Brodie found that it produced vertigo, paralysis

  * Except the sulphate, says Dr. Ure.  Dictionary of Chemistry, article
Barium.
  t Orfila, vol. I, p. 396.
  t Parkes' Chemical Essays, London, 1815, vol. 2, p. 217. 
MINERAL POISONS.
849
ofthe posterior extremities, general insensibility, di-
lated pupils, convulsions  and death.   The stomach
and  intestines  were  not affected.   The lungs  were
exactly in the same situation  as in  the  previous ex-
periment.
  Orfila and Brodie have  each introduced this sub-
stance into the stomach of animals.   It excited vomit-
ing and  purging, violent convulsions,  and greatly ac-
celerated the pulse.   Insensibility  generally  ensued
previous to death.  The. mucous  membrane of the
stomach was of a livid red  colour,  and it could be
easilyr rubbed off.  The muscular  coat exhibited two
broad patches of  a cherry red colour.  The lungs
were natural,  but  the  left ventricle of the heart con-
tained black fluid blood.*
   We have also some instances of its effects on the
human system.  An over-dose (probably seventy  or
eighty drops) excited violent purging and  vomiting,
loss of muscular motion in the limbs, and coldness of
the extremities,  from  which the  patient did uot re-
cover  in some days.f   An ounce  in  solution,  which
was taken by  mistake for Glauber's  salts,  produced
instant vomiting, convulsions, pain in  the head and
deafness, and  death supervened within an hour after
the exhibition  ofthe poison.J

                  Chemical Proofs.

   Carbonate of barytes is insoluble in water, and ef-
fervesces when dissolving in the  nitric and muriatic
*\ (' I (I S
   Muriate of barytes is soluble in water, and  is de-
composed  hy the carbonates of  potash and soda.
Carbonate of barytes is precipitated.
   Nitrate of  silver causes a  precipitate of muriate of

  » Chaotal mentions, that MM. Huzard and Biron gave to some horses
the muriate and carbonate of barytes in  doses of 118 grains every day, and
these animals died suddenly after having taken  them for a few days.—
Chemistry applied to the  Arts, vol. 2, p.  74.
  t Med. Commentaries, vol. 19, p. 151
  X Brande's Journal, vol. 4, p. 382 
350             MINERAL POISONS.
silver.  The hydro sulphurets do not affect its  solu-
tion.
  Wine  is very slightly affected by the solution of
the muriate. Syrup, tea, albumen, gelatine, and milk
are not altered'; but human bile is precipitated of a
greenish yellow.
  Pure barytes acts in a similar manner on the above
animal and vegetable substances.*
  The chemical characters  above stated, sufficiently
distinguish the salts in question, but if they be mixed
with fluids which prevent the full action of the tests,
the suspected substances  must be  treated with the
sub-carbonate of ammonia dissolved  in water.  A
precipitate of carbonate of barytes is  thus obtained,
which, after being dried, should be calcined  with
charcoal.   Caustic barytes will thus be obtained.
  The same direction also applies to cases,  were
muriate of barytes is the supposed poison.
  Antjdotes.   From the experiments of Orfila, it ap-
pears that the  sulphate of soda or  magnesia,  is the
proper remedy, when early administered.   These
decompose the poison and produce an insoluble sul-
phate of barytes.   Vomiting must always be encour-
aged.
  Quicklime was  introduced  into the stomach of a
small dog to the extent of a drachm and a half in pow-
der.  It caused vomiting and the discharge of much
saliva, with some pain.  He however recovered  on
the next day.   Three days thereafter, three drachms
were administered.   Vomiting and dejection ensued,
and he died in three days, without having experienc-
ed either vertigo, convulsive motions  or paralysis.
  The mouth, fauces and cesophagus were  slightly
inflamed,  and the  mucous membrane of the stomach
was inflamed throughout its whole extent. The intes-
tines and lungs were natural.
  Quicklime is  thus  evidently not a very powerful
poison.
  Its chemical characters are well known, but if any
* Orfila, vol. 1, p. 390,392. 
MINERAL POISONS.
351
doubt exist, it must be calcined, in order to be reduc-
ed to a caustic state.
   Wine changes lime-water to a yellow colour and
gives  a brown  precipitate.  Tea in small  quantity,
gives a greenish precipitate, but when a large quantity
of  lime-water  is  added,  the  deposition is of a  red
ochre colour.   Albumen, gelatine  and  milk produce
no change, but human bile deposits after a few hours,
a brown precipitate.
   The  same mode of treatment that was mentioned
respecting persons poisoned by caustic  potash and
soda, is advisable in this instance.*
   Hydrogenated sulphuret of potash.  ("Liver
of sulphur J   This substance,  which  formerly was
deemed an antidote  of arsenic  and corrosive  subli-
mate, has been ascertained to be one of the most pow-
erful  of the corrosive poisons.  A  French countess
 swallowed by  mistake some of it which was intended
 for the preparation of a bath, and she expired in a few
 minutes.f
    When introduced  into the  stomach of animals,
 whose oesophagus had been tied,  it produced violent
 attempts to vomit, hurried respiration, panting, tetanic
 convulsions, and  death.    The stomach was found
 much inflamed, and covered over with yellowish white
 spots ; the duodenum and jejunum were inflamed ;
 the lungs were partially gorged, and the left ventricle
 contained black blood.  Vomiting was excited when
 the cesophagus was not  tied.

   • Orfila, vol. l,p. 401.               .
   f Orfila's directions, p. 68.  Probably this is the same case which is quo
  ted from Dr. Montgarny's Essai de  Toxicologic, in the London Med. Rep
  vol 10 p 511. « A lady suffering from pyrosis, died in a few minutes,
  after having swallowed a few mouthfuls of an aqueous solution of the sul-
  phuret of potash.  The fatal event was preceded by faintness, convulsion^
  and the issue of a yellowish froth from the mouth.  On dissection, the
  stomach was found very much  contracted, its internal membrane  lined
  with sulphur and of a brightish red colour, and its capillary system, in some
  points, minutely injected.  The duodenum was red and inflamed, particu-
  larly towards its duodenal extremity. The superior f.ortion of the small
  intestine in about a fourth of its extent,  presented the same appearances
  The membrane ofthe mouth, pharynx and  bronchia? was whitish and col-
  oured, but displayed no change of structure.  The  lungs were soft, net
  crepitous, and gorged with black, livid aud very fluid blood. 
352             MINERAL POISONS.
   When injected in solution into the jugular,  it pro
duced immediate tetanus, from which, in one instance,
the animal quickly recovered, and in another, he per-
ished.   The blood in the heart was fluid,  and in the
left ventricle, of a deep red.
   The deduction drawn by Orfila from  his  experi-
ments with this substance is, that the corrosion exci-
ted by it is slighter in proportion as the dose is stron
ger,  and the nervous  phenomena will then be much
more severe.*
   Liver of sulphur is decomposed by the  acids,  aud
sulphuretted  hydrogen is given out.  Corrosive  sub-
limate,  acetate of lead,  nitrate of bismuth, and  the
salts  of copper, all  yield a black precipitate  on the
addition of a  few drops of this  substance.   Tartar
emetic, an orange-yellow one, and arsenious acid, ap-
plied to a small  quantity,  a white precipitate;  to a
large  quantity, a yellow one.
   Treatment.  Vinegar or lemon juice,  mixed  with
water, should  be administered.   This excites vomit-
ing, and may decompose  the  poison.  We  should
then guard against inflammation.f

    nitrate  of  potash.   fJSTitre, Salt-petre.J

   This  salt,  in large doses, acts as a corrosive pois-
on, and  cases  illustrative of this effect are mention-
ed by various writers.    An  individual, labouring
under fever,  took by  mistake an ounce and a half of
nitrate of potash.   In a short time,  severe anguish,
with a sense of internal cold,  supervened, and faint-
ing and  syncope followed.   He died in less than ten
hours.J
   A female took an  ounce and a half by mistake.  It
excited vomiting and purging, with violent pain in the
bowels.   The extremities were cold, while a burning

  * He adds, that Magendie  has observed, that when a drop of a strong so-
lution of liver of sulphur is put into the mouth of a very young dog, the
animal dies in a short time, and after death the trachea is filled with mucus
  t Orfila, vol. 1, p. 508.  Orfila's Directions, p. 68.
  I Quoted from Comparetti.  Orfila, vol. 2, p. 87. 
MINERAL poisons.
353
sensation was experienced in the stomach ;  the pulse
was almost imperceptible, and she died in sixty hours
after taking the salt.  On dissection, the stomach was
found  red,  and scattered over  with blackish  spots,
and in the centre was a small hole,  which perforated
it.   The intestinal canal was reddish.*
  In a third  case,  related by M. Laflize, an  ounce
produced similar effects, aud death in three hours.
The stomach was very highly inflamed,  and its mu-
cous coat detached in several places ; the external
coat was of a deep red, and some  brown spots were
observed on it.f
  There are, however,  some instances where patients
have recovered, after taking large doses.   A pregnant
female by mistake  took two ounces, which immedi-
ately excited vomiting,  first of the contents of the sto-
mach, and then of blood.  As soon as the alarm was
taken, warm water and mucilaginous  drinks,  (gum
arabic,  linseed  tea,  &c.) wereexhibited.   Burning
pains at the stomach, however, supervened, the pulse
sunk,  and  a cold  clammy  sweat  broke  out.   The
vomiting recurred  frequently with  violence.  From
this she was gradually relieved, but the pains in the
abdomen continued for  a longer time,  and when con-
valescent,  and ten days after the taking of the salt,
she was seized with  a  nervous affection, greatly re-
sembling chorea.  Twitchings ofthe muscles and in-
voluntary motions, were present to  an alarming de-
gree, and they continued for  two months.   They gra-
dually left her,  and she was at last happily deliver-
ed.!

  *  Case by Souville.  Orfila, vol. 2, p. 87.
  t  See Fodere, vol. 4, p. 82,  Metzger, p. 385 ; and Belloc, p. 141, refer
to several cases where nitre has proved poisonous.
  X  Case bv Mr. Butter, in Edin.  Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 14, p. 34.
This gentleman observes, that he is not aware of any case on record where
a patient has taken and recovered from so large u dose of nitre.  There is,
however, another in the memoirs ofthe Medical Society of London, rela-
ted  by Dr. Falconer, vol. 3, p. 527. The individual,  (a blacksmith) took
two ounces, and his symptoms were similar to those already detailed, ex-
cept that he vomited blood to the amount of a quart. He was ill for many
months  afterwards, and was not dismissed cured from the hospital until
nearly a year after the accident.  Other cases of recovery are cited by Or
fila.
     VOL. II*                45 
354             MINERAL POISONS.
  Effect on animals.  Five drachms and a half given
to a dog caused vomiting, but on the day following
he  ate well and experienced no  remarkable symp-
toms.  But when  the oesophagus  was tied, and  the
salt introduced into the stomach, it excited vertigo,
pain, slight convulsions,  insensibility, weakness and
death.  The  mucous membrane of the stomach was
inflamed, and scattered over with  black spots.  The
lungs were natural.
  When nitre in powder was applied to a wound on
the  back of a  dog, it produced no effect.   But an ap-
plication of it to an incision near the feraoro-tibial ar-
ticulation, produced gangrene, after some  days, and
the animal died.*
  The distinguishing properties of nitre, are its crack-
ling when thrown on burning coals, and  the disen-
gagement  of  white vapours when sulphuric acid i«
added.
  The treatment employed in the case already relat-
ed is probably the most advisable.  Vomiting should
be excited, while the stomach is protected by mucila-
ginous drinks.
  Muriate  of  ammonia, fSal Ammoniac,) is poi-
sonous  when taken into the stomach,  or applied in
large  quantities to wounds.   It causes vomiting, con-
vulsions, pain in the bowuls, and death.  Dr. Smith
applied  it to the  cellular texture of the thigh of dogs,
vomiting ensued, with great weakness, which increas-
ed until  death.  The mucous membrane of the stom-
ach presented several gangrenous ulcerations and was
generally inflamed ; the  whole digestive canal con-
tained a blackish fluid and the rectum  was inflamed.
In another instance,  the mucous membrane was found
in a state of putridity.f
  Treatment.  Vomiting should be excited by warm
water or irritating the throat, and the nervous or in-
flammatory symptoms  are then to be counteracted by
the means already noticed.

  * Orfila, vol. 2, p. 84.            t Ibid. vol. 2, p. 469 
MINERAL POISONS.            355
                      GASES.

   Several of these have been made the subject of ex-
periment on animals,  while in some instances, they
have unfortunately proved  destructive to human life.
   Chlorine  in  a gaseous state  destroys those who
breathe it, by producing great irritation of  the brou-
chiae, and even when diluted  with atmospheric air, it
causes cough and inflammation.  Pelletier  is thus
said to have fallen a victim to its effects.
   In the summer of 1821, Dr. Francis was called to
a child aged seven years, who had through accident
inhaled a portion of this gas from a bottle.   The ac-
tion of this substance  was most sudden—immediate
congestion of the bronchise and lungs,  a  laboured
cough, and appearance  of unavoidable suffocation.
The patient was forthwith removed into the open air,
and blood taken from  the arm.  These  means were
followed by the mechanical elevation and depression
of the ribs, as in giving action to the chest in cases of
asphyxia.  Considerable irritation of the lungs con-
tinued for several days after the child's recovery.*
   Nysten and Orfila have performed  several experi-
ments with gaseous chlorine on animals.  When in-
jected into the jugular, it caused pain, difficult breath-
ing and speedy death ; and  the blood, on examina-
tion was  dark coloured and altogether fluid.  The
injection of it into the pleura, excited great  agitation,
extreme pain, and trembling ofthe limbs, but the an-
imal survived the immediate effects.    On the third
day he was killed, and the pleura was found covered
with a false  membrane, and bore all the appearances
of recent inflammation.f
  Fluid Chlorine  when introduced into the stomach,
caused dejection and death ;  and on  dissection, the
mucous membrane of the stomach was either exten-
sively inflamed or ulcerated.  The other organs were
unaffected.  It is hence evident that its action resem-
bles that of the other acids.
* MS. Communication.
t Orfila, vol. 2. p. 92. 
356
MINERAL POISON.>.
  Nitrous acid gas, or more correctly, nitric acid gat.
Dr. Desgranges  has  presented a valuable case illus-
trative of  the effects of this substance on the animal
ceconomy.
  A merchant at Lyons, aged 45, and  of a tolerably-
strong constitution, had stored a considerable quanti-
ty of nitrous acid in his warehouse.   He was awoke
one morning, by  the howling of the watch dog, which
he had shut up in it, and  on opening the door, inline
diately perceived the smell of nitrous gas.   The dog
rushed out with  his paws burnt, ran to the nearest
water to quench his thirst, and after playing an hour
or two with some other dogs, he returned and expir-
ed at his master's door, after  vomiting  thick stuff of
various colours.
  The merchant attempted to enter  the warehouse,
but was driven back in a few minutes, by  the ap-
proach  of suffocation.   He however  persisted in
again visiting the room, and finally succeeded in car-
rying out the broken cantines.   Two were found emp-
ty, each of which had contained thirty-two pounds of
aqua fortis.
  This was early in  the morning.  At  six o'clock he
breakfasted, and then went to pay a visit, but return-
ed before eight,  with a dry and  burning heat in the
throat, irritation in his stomach and breast, and a very
painful sense of  tightness near the attachment of the
diaphragm.  He was advised to drink freely of milk,
and fomentations were applied to the abdomen, toge-
ther with sinapisms to the arms.  The two last reme-
dies seemed to fatigue him much, and to augment his
distress, but he continued the milk.   At one o'clock
he felt easier, had a spontaneous yellow stool, and in
the space of an hour two  others, both of the colour of
citron  ointment.   His urine was scanty,  and in the
evening he experienced  frequent pressing desire to
make water, but always in vain.   At four o'clock he
began to expectorate a yellowish matter, and had af-
terwards a little cough and slight  vomiting.   Injec-
tions were  given him, which came off instantly, but 
MINERAL POISONS.
357
coloured yellow.  At nine, his body became of a blue
colour, his breathing was  oppressed, there was some
rattling in the throat and hiccup, and he complained
of great pain in the abdomen and acros the bottom of
the thorax.  Convulsive motions, find slight delirium
also supervened.  Towards morning his anguish in-
creased, and his anxiety became inexpressible.   He
however preserved his senses until  six, and died at
seven o'clock.   Shortly after death, his belly swelled
and became  distended in a very remarkable manner,
his face  was purple, his lips black, and some blood
issued from his nose and mouth.  The body was not
opened.*
  There is also a curious case related in  the Philo-
sophical Transactions by Dr. Mounsey, where a hmg
train of symptoms afflicted an individual at Moscow,
apparently from inhaling  the fumes  of a mixture of
verdigris  and false gold leaf with nitric acid.  Red
spots appeared on various parts of his body—nausea,
pain, and anxiety at the pit of the  stomach came on,
and it was not until after several days, that  he was
relieved from the pains in various parts of his hody.f
   Sulphurous  acid gas.   This is constantly dis-
engaged when sulphur  is  burnt in the open air.  It
is also produced by the roasting of various metals.
   In March, 1817, a number of miners at the Lead-
hills in Scotland, who had gone down to work at the
depth of twenty-five fathoms, were suddenly seized
with  difficulty  of   breathing,  violent pain  in the
head, weakness of the lower extremities, palpitation,
and in some cases vomiting.  Giddiness ensued, and
in a short time complete mania. Some were furious,
and others listless,  or appeared as if they were  in-
toxicated.  Vomiting or retching generally came on,
when they had been exposed for some time to the air
above ground ; and in other cases, tenesmus was pre-
sent.   By the use  of  emetics  or purgatives, as  the
symptoms indicated, they were relieved, and recover-
* Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 3, p. 16.
t Phil. Trans, vol. 50, p. 19 ; and vol. 54, p. 15, 
358              MINERAL POISONS.
ed in the course of a few days.  Two, however, who
could not be brought up, were deprived of life.
  The  accident in this instance,  was attributed to  a
quantity of smoke escaping from the chimney of the
engine under ground, into the way-gates, and so con-
taminating the air in the workings, from the sulphur-
ous acid gas which it contained, as to render it dele-
terious.  It evidently was but slightly charged  with
carbonic acid gas, since the  candles burnt, though
faintly, at the place where the men perished.*
  In the following instance,  I  also apprehend  that
sulphurous acid gas was the main cause of death.
  In November, 1821,  a smith at Maidstone, was re-
pairing the inside of the boiler of a steam engine, and
in joining two pieces of iron, he made use of a cement
composed  of  sal-ammoniac,  sulphur and iron turn-
ings, which produced  such a  quantity of fumes,  that
he  was suffocated in a  few  moments.  His assistant
being at work on the outside, and hearing a struggling
noise within, got through the opening at the top ofthe
boiler,  and while descending  to his master's assis-
tance, inhaled the fumes and fell to the bottom.  A
workman attempted twice to descend to his assistance,
but he was so powerfully affected by the effluvia, that
he was obliged to desist.   A large quantity of water
having been thrown into the boiler, the bodies were
brought out.   The master was quite dead, and his
assistant, though he exhibited some signs of life when
taken out, died next morning, f
  Xitrogen,  is  classified by  Orfila among the  nar-
cotic  poisons.   Animals when plunged into it, expe-
rience a difficulty of respiration, which gradually be-
comes more rapid and weaker, but without any lesion
of the nervous  functions.   Life is  however  readily
restored by exposure to the atmosphere.

  * Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol.  13, p. 353 ; case by Mr. Braid,
surgeon. Water,  or*,  being thrown down the shaft, improved the air so
much, probably by absorbing the sulphurous acid gas, that one person, who
had lain insensible for an hour at the side of the shaft, was restored.
  t Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, vol. 6, p..402, from the Technical Re-
pository. 
MINERAL POISONS.
359
  Dupuytren  has ascertained  that this gas is'one of
the causes of the asphyxia arising from privies.*
   Carbonic oxide.  This forms a part, as we have al-
ready stated, of the deleterious gases arising from the
burning of charcoal.  There are however one or two
facts  on record of its influence when prepared in the
laboratory.
  Sir Humphrey Davy inspired it, in a state of mix-
ture, with about i of common  air.  The effect was a
temporary loss of sensation, which was succeeded by
giddiness,  sickness, acute pains  in different parts of
the body, and  extreme debility.  Some days elapsed
before he entirely recovered.f
   Mr. Witter, of Dublin, desirous of fully ascertain-
ing the effects  of carbonic oxide, when freely inhaled,
took three  or  four full inspirations of it.   The con-
sequence was  an  inconceivably sudden deprivation of
sense and  volition.   He fell supine and motionless
on the floor, and continued in a state of total insensi-
bility for almost half an hour, and apparently lifeless,
as pulsation was nearly extinct.  Various restorative
means were used without success,  but on the intro-
duction of  oxygen gas  into the lungs,  he recovered
with convulsive agitation, excessive head-ache,  and
quick  irregular pulsation ; and for some time after
mental recovery, total blindness, extreme sickness,
and vertigo, were experienced.  An unconquerable
propensity to sleep succeeded,  after which he gradu-
ally recovered.:}:
  The following curious fact has also been considered
as illustrative  of  the effects of the carbonic oxide.  T
quote it for its  singularity, although I am not satisfied
but that  other causes may have  aided in  producing
the disease.
  " The workmen of a cotton manufactory at Argues,
near Dieppe, were attacked with nausea, vertigo and
convulsions, which  so much affected their imagina-

 * Orfila, vol.2, p. 168.
 f Davys Elements of Chem. Philosophy, p 172 \rn'> ed.
 t Eclectic R«pertory, vol. 5, p. 610 
360
MINERAL POISONS.
tions,  that they thought they saw spectres and other
fantastic objects flying at them, and seizing them by
the throat.  Mr. Nicolle,  an apothecary at Dieppe,
published a memoir on this disease, and he attributes
it to the  gaseous oxide of  carbon, resulting from the
decomposition of the oil, by the heat of a cast iron
stove, on which they were in the habit of placing their
vessels of that fluid.   This gaseous product  bein^
lighter than the atmosphere, would  ascend, and  in
this  way, he accounts for the fact, that the persons iu
the upper stories of the manufactory, were first affect-
ed, while those on the  ground  floor were generally
preserved from it."*
  Another substance remains to be noticed, and prin-
cipally for the purpose of establishing its  innoxious
properties.  I refer to

         GLASS AND ENAMEL  IN POWDER.

   This  was  formerly deemed  a highly  poisonous
substance.  It was one of  the  articles administered
to  Sir Thomas Overbury for his destruction, and tox-
icologists and medical jurists even to the present day,
continue  its arrangement with the corrosive poisons.
Various  experimenters have however, given it in con-
siderable quantity  to  animals, and even to men,
without  producing auy injury.  Le  Sauvage admin-
istered several  drachms to cats, dogs and rats, and
neither during life was any illness  perceived,-nor on
being killed for the purpose of dissection, was any
lesion noticed in the stomach or intestines.    Caldani
and  Mandruzatto, are also said to have made similar
experiments on animals, and  the latter on himself,
with the same results.!   It would  thus seem, that
the substance  in question can hardly  be deemed a
poison,  at least in the ordinary sense of the term.

   Silliman's Journal, vol. 6, p. 199.
 t Orfila, vol. 1, p. 418.  Marc, p. 61.  Le Sauvage, also made numerous
experiments on himself, with pounded glass, but no inconvenience or injury
was produced.  See  theNew-York Med. Repository, vol. 14. p. 406, for a
 ir«*ement of his experiments. 
Mineral  poisons.
361
   But there is no doubt, that it may produce injury by
   its insolubility, and its mechanical properties.  If the
   fragments be coarse or large, inflammation may arise
   from the irritation that is excited.*
     There is a remarkable case on record, where a hus-
   band was accused of having poisoned his wife by means
   of this substance, and as the question in controversy
   was referred to two eminent physicians, I conceive I
   shall  do a service, in giving the leading particulars,
   and their decision.
     Louis Lavalley, a young man residing  near Bay-
>   eux,  iu France,  became  attached  to  Maria Guerin,
to the daughter of a neighbour.  After the intimacy had
   continued  for  some  time, it was discovered that she
   was  pregnant, and her  relatives urged the necessity
   of marriage.   As Louis continued deeply  enamoured
   of the female, but little difficulty was experienced in
   effecting this, and his parents readily consented to
   the union.  They were married on the fifth of No-
   vember, 1807, but were to remain separate at  the re-
   quest of the family of  Guerin, until after  her deliv-
   ery.
      On the thirteenth  of  December,  Lavalley  invited
   his wife and  father-in law to a family diuuer.   The
   entertainment consisted of roast pig, black  pudding,
   and calf's liver;  and the bride partook freely of  all
   of them.   To these, coffee succeeded, aud she mixed
   a little brandy with her's.  She was urged to  remain
   that  evening, but her father opposed it,  and  she re-
   turned to his  home with  him.   She continued well
   during  the night, but  early  on  the next  morning,
   was  seized with  violent pains,  and in  four or five
L   hours, convulsions  followed.    Medical aid was  af-
*   forded, but without relief.  Delivery with instruments

     * Fodere, vol. 4, p. 115 : and Marc, p. 61, appear to consider it a poison.
    Metzger observes, " La similitude d'action du verre en fragmens grossiers,
   «-t de  tous les corps  siliceux, m'engage  encore a les placer dans cette
   classe," (des poisons  caustiques,)  p. 121.  A remark of Foder£, though
   not in the way he intends it, may be applied to this substance.  If glass in
   fragments be poisonous, a fish-bone irritating the stomach  or  intestines,
    may, with the same propriety,bo railed poisonous
       VOL. It.               4fi 
862             MINERAL P0I30NS.
was then attempted, but an alarming haemorrhage
obliged the  accoucher to abandon it, and finally, as
death seemed inevitable, the infant  was extracted by
the caesarean operation.   She died daring this, and
her infant did  not  survive her.   The funeral took
place as usual; but  about a month after her decease,
and after some disagreement had taken place  among
the families, concerning  the disposition of her mar-
riage settlement, a report came  into circulation that
she had been poisoned, and her husband was  named
as the  murderer.   The body was disinterred, forty-
two days after death, and although putrefaction was
greatly advanced, yet the stomach and other viscera
were removed and carried away for examination.
   The reports made concerning the  dissection, were
as follows :  The stomach, duodenum, ileon  and rec-
tum on being opened, exhibited numerous black points
and  spots.   On  the internal coat of  the intestines a
whitish substance was discovered, which was ascer-
tained by the magnifying glass and chemical  experi-
ments, to be pounded glass.   Vesicles resembling the
effects  of a burn, were  also present, and particu*
larly in those places where the black spots were most
numerous; and some slight erosions were  observed.
On these grounds, the surgeons and chemists gave it
as their opinion, that the pounded glass had produ-
ced the symptoms, and the fatal termination.
   Lavalley was dragged to prison,  with every mark
of opprobrium.   His advocate,  however, addressed
several  questions to the president of the school of
medicine,  for the purpose of elucidating the medical
testimony.   And these were answered by two of the
professors, whose names are  well known throughout
the medical  world—Baudelocque  and  Chaussier.
Their  report is dated March,  1S08.  After  stating
the questions put to them, I shall detail the substance
of their answers.
   The first interrogatory was, whether from the facts
stated above, there appeared to be any natural causes
for the death of the female, either as regards her sit- 
MINERAL POISONS.
363
   uation, the food she had taken, the medical assistance
   she had received, or the omission of proper remedies ?
     To  this,  it is replied, that  the nature of the  food
   taken  by the female being rather indigestible, the ad-
   dition  of brandy to her coffee,  and her  subsequent
   walk,  all might have aided in producing indigestion
   —that this is a common occurrence from any impro-
   priety in eating, with females advanced in pregnancy,
   and that convulsions is in these cases, a common con-
   sequence of  indigestion.  As to the treatment,  they
   decline any observations, but intimate  an opinion,
...  that the attempted delivery with instruments when no
   dilatation was present,  as well as the cesarean  ope-
   ration, were both improper.
     The second question was, whether her death ought
   to be attributed to the pounded glass found in the sto-
   mach and intestines—whether this glass is a poison,
   and if so,  what are its effects,  and mode of  opera-
   tion, and do these correspond to the appearances ob-
   served on dissection ?
     The professors intimate a doubt, whether the sub-
   stance found was actually glass, but admitting it was
   so, they proceed to examine its  nature.  They ob-
   serve  that it is a common and ancient opinion,  that
   rock crystal, the diamond, glass, and other analogous
   substances,  are active and dangerous poisons,  since
   by their hardness,  they tear and pierce the coats of
   the intestines.  This belief, however, is shown to be
   totally incorrect by numerous quotations from various
   authors, of persons who  had swallowed diamonds,
   and of  eaters of glass, in large pieces—all of whom
   had  escaped injury.   They declare, that glass in a
   state of fine powder, is an inert substance,  and partic-
   ularly  so when the  stomach is filled with food.   The
   idea of its being taken in the coffee, is at once refuted
   by the  fact, that it would fall to the bottom by its own
  gravity ; and it is suggested, whether if glass were ac-
   tually  present  in  the  intestines, it  might not have
   come from some vessel which  she had broken with
   her teeth during the existence of the convulsions. 
364
MINERAL POISONS.
   The last question was, whether putrefaction would
not produce great changes in a body, forty-two days
after death ; and  if so, what caused the state ofthe
viscera as reported by the examiners ?
   It is replied, that usually the term  of  forty days
produces  such a change as to render an examination
altogether uncertain, but even allowing the season to
have been favourable for the preservation of the body,
they do not conceive  the facts stated to indicate the
results of poison.   Convulsions supervening on a full
stomach, and  passing to a fatal termination, would
leave an engorged state of the vessels in various parts,
and predispose to ecchymosis, while the progress of
putrefaction would readily  explain the black spots
that were  observed.   The medicines  administered,
being  antimonial emetics, and  an enema of senna,
must also,  and  particularly  as  they proved ineffica-
cious,  have aided in determining the irritation to the
stomach and bowels.   As  to the erosions, they re-
mark,  that  their appearance proves little, since they
are frequently observed in those who  die from dis-
eases which exclude all idea of poison.
   The professors  conclude  with observing, that as
natural causes will abundantly account  for the death
ofthe female,  they consider the  accused husband  as
guiltless;  aud when  brought to  trial before the cri-
minal court of Caen, he was  acquitted by the unani-
mous verdict of the jury.*
   I shall conclude this  chapter  with a statement of
some general results drawn from experiments on the
principal poisonous minerals.  These, I should pre-
sume, would often prove of great assistance  in guiding
the examinations ofthe medical jurist.
   We shall first suppose  that the poison  discovered
is solid; and the earliest subject of enquiry  in that
case, is its solubility.  We may attempt this in cold
water, but generally it will be  most satisfactory in
boiling water,  and the process  should be continued

  * Causes Celcbres, par Mejan, vol. 2, p. 324 to 366; vol. 3, p, 344. 
MINERAL POISONS.
365
for at least a quarter of an hour.   In  both  instances,
distilled water should alone be used.  The following
table indicates the substances which will,  or will not
be dissolved:
Substances soluble in water, wholly or
            in part.
Corrosive sublimate.
Arsenious acid.
Muriate of antimony.
Sulphate, muriate, and nitrate of cop-
  per.
Muriate of tin.
Sulphate of zinc.
Nitrate of silver.
Muriate of gold.
Nitrate of bismuth.
Potash:  sub-carbonate of potash.
Soda: sub-carbonate of soda.
Sub-carbonate of ammonia.
Barytes: muriate  and nitrate of ba-
  rytes.
Lime.
Nitrate of lead.
Nitrate of potash.
Sulphate of iron.
Muriate of ammonia.
Sulphuret of potash.
      Substances insoluble.
Red precipitate, of mercury.
Black oxide of mercury.
Turbith mineral.
Red and yellow sulphurets of arsenic
Peroxide of antimony.
Golden sulphur.
Krtrmes.
Peroxide of tin.
Oxide of zinc.
Sub-nitrate of bismuth
Carbonate of barytes.
Carbonate of lead.
 Cinnabar,
   Having determined the fluid to he soluble, it is fil-
tered, and a small quantity is  put in a test glass.   To
this, a few drops of a hydro-sulphuret are added, and
the effects will be as follows:
Substances precipitated by the hydro-
          sulphurets.
Corrosive sublimate—black.
Muriate of antimony—orange or red.
Soluble salts of copper—black.
Muriate of  tin—black or chocolate,
  or yellow.
Sulphate of zinc—yellowish white,
  or deep brown.
Nitrate of silver—blackish brown.
Muriate of gold—deep chocolate.
Nitrate of bismuth—black.
Sulphate of iron—blackish green.
Nitrate of lead—black.

   A fresh quantity of the
be taken, and submitted to
holized  potash.  And  the
those  solutions which  are
sulphurets:
Substances which are not precipitated
      by the hydro-sulphurets.
Arsenious acid.
Potash, and its sub-carbonate.
Soda, and its sub-carbonate.
Barytes, and its muriate and nitrate.
Lime.
Nitrate of potash.
Muriate of ammonia.
Sulphuret of potash.
original fluid  should now
the action of caustic alco-
following  is  the effect on
precipitated by the hydro- 
366              MINERAL POISONS'.
 Solutions which yield a white preci- Solutions which yield with potash ro
     pilate with caustic potash.        loured precipitates, or are not preci
 Muriate of antimony.              pitated at all at the ordinary fern-
 Muriate of tin.                   perature.
 Sulphate of zinc.               Corrosive sublimate—canary yellow
 Nitrate of bismuth.              Salts of copper—blue.
 Nitrate of lead.                Nitrate of silver—deep brown.
                            Muriate of gold—no precipitate
                              when cold.
                            Sulphate of iron—green or red.

   We have now obtained two results with the sub-
 stances in  the right hand column,  (with the hydro-
 sulphurets and the caustic potash.)   These are suffi-
 cient indications to guide the examiner in his investi-
 gations, and  he must  refer to the head of chemical
 proofs,  as given under each  individual poison,  for
 additional  verification.
   Of  those substances which give a white precipitate
 with caustic potash, one, the nitrate of lead, is preci-
 pitated by  the muriatic acid;  the others  are not  af-
 fected by  it.  We have then  four remaining.  Two
 of  these give a white precipitate,  or become  milky
 with distilled water,  viz. muriate of antimony  and
 nitrate of  bismuth ; while the remaining two,  being
 muriate of tin and sulphate of  zinc, undergo no alter-
 ation from  it.   Each of these must then  be examined
 by additional tests, as directed in former pages.
   We return to the substances that have not furnish-
 ed any precipitates with the hydro-sulphurets ; and
 they are divisible as follows :

 Substances which turn the syrup of     Substances which do not.
         violets green.           Arsenious acid
 Potash :  sub-carbonate of potash.    Muriate and nitrate of barytes.
 Soda: sub-carbonate of soda.       Nitrate of potash.
 Sub-carbonate of ammonia.         Muriate of ammonia.
 Barytes.
 Lime.

   Among those  which have turned the syrup of vio-
 lets green, the  sub-carbonate of ammonia may  be
readily distinguished by its smell, and of the remain-
 der, barytes and lime are precipitated by the sub-car-
bonate of potash, while the others are not precipitated
by it.   Barytes may then be distinguished from lime, 
MINERAL POISONS.
867
by the  addition of sulphuric acid.   This re-agent

precipitates the former, and  not  the latter.   Potash

and soda are to be distinguished  by the nitro-muriate

of platina.

   Of those which have not turned the syrup of violets

green, one precipitates hydro-sulphuretted water and

lime-water of a yellow and white colour, viz. the ar-

senious  acid.   The others  are  not affected.   Then

add sub-carbonate of ammonia to them.  It

      precipitates                   and does not precipitate
The soluble salts of barytes;       Nitrate of potash,
                            And muriate of ammonia.


   If we add lime to the muriate of ammonia, the dis-

engagement of ammonia will indicate its nature.


   We come  next to  that class of  substances  which

were  insoluble in  distilled  water.   The  colour

should first be noticed.

Poisonous  substances insoluble, of a  Insoluble poisonous substances, co-
         while colour.                     loured.
Peroxide of antimony.            Red precipitate of mercury.
Peroxide of tin.                 Black oxide of mercury.
Oxide of zinc.                  Turbith mineral, yellow.
Sub-nitrate of bismuth.           Sulphurets of arsenic, yellow or red
Carbonate  of barytes.            Kermes, brown-red.
Carhonate of lead.               Golden sulphur of antimony
                            Cinnabar.  .


   Treat the white substances with nitric acid—

          It dissolves                  It does not dissolve
Oxide of zinc,       > without ef-  Peroxide of antimony.
riub-iiitrale of bismuth Jfervescence  Peroxide of tin.
Carbonate of barytes, > with eft'er-
Carbouate  of lead,  j vescence.


   On the  solution that has dissolved  without effer-

vescence,  pour some distilled water.   If it be  bis-

muth, there will be a white precipitate, while the  ni-

trate of  zinc will be unaffected.   To the solution that

has dissolved with effervescence,  add pure ammonia.

The lead will  furnish a white  precipitate,  while the

barytes  remains  transparent.   Lastly,  the antimony

and tin must be treated  with muriatic acid, and the 
368             MINERAL. P0IS0N9.

muriate of tin thus procured will not  be disturbed by
distilled water, but the muriate of antimony will yield
to it an abundant white precipitate.
   Four ofthe coloured substances are red—red oxide
of mercury,  cinnabar, red sulphuret of arsenic, and
kermes mineral.   The red oxide and  the kermes dis-
solve in  muriatic acid;  the  others do not.   Their
nature, and those of  the remaining substances, may
then be investigated by the directions already  laid
down.
   When the  poison is in a fluid state, the same course
should be pursued   as  directed concerning soluble
solid substances.*
   As to the punishment of murder by poisoning, it is
not necessary for me  to enlarge.   It is sufficient to
state, that in all civilized countries,  it is deemed the
most atrocious of crimes, and is marked by the sever-
est punishment.f   With respect to time, it is deemed
murder in England, if the party poist ned  die with-
in a  year;  and in the state of New-York, it is en-
acted, that  the punishment for poisoning,  where the
individual poisoned  does  not die  within a year and
a day, shall be imprisonment in the state prison for a
term not exceeding fourteen  years. $   I cannot find
a provision on this point in the laws of other states.

  * The above directions are taken from Orfila, vol. 2, p. 502 to 512.  Marc.
i p. 74 to 78,)  has drawn up a sketch somewhat similar, but not by any
means so complete, as the one here presented.
  t Ehrmann in Schlei'd. vol. 3, p. 163 to 186, has collected the laws of
various countries on this crime.
  X Revised laws, vol. 1, p. 409. 
CHAPTER  VI.
                    VEGETABLE  POISONS.

I. Irritative  or acrid poisons—Veratrum  album—viride.  Helleborus
  niger—fcetidus.   Bryonia dioica.  Elaterium.   Colocynth.  Gamboge.
  Daphne  gnidium—mezereum—laureola.  Ricinus communis.  Euphor-
  bia officinarum, and  other  species.  Savine.   Rhus radicans—toxico-
  dendron—vernix.   Anemone pulsatilla, and other species.  Aconitum
  uapellus, and other species.  OZnanthe crocata—fistulosa.  Ranunculus
  acris,  and other species.  Colchicura  autumnale.  Chelidonium majus
  —glaucium.    Delphinium   staphysagria.    Narcissus pseudo-narcissus.
  Gratiola officinalis. Jalropha curcas—manihot.  Scilla  maritima.  Se-
  (Itun  acre.   Rhododendron  chrysanthum—ferrugineum.   Fritillaria
  iniperiaiis.   Pedicularis  palustris.  Cyclamen  europceum.   Plumbago
  cmopcna.  Scammony.  Cerbera.  Cynanchum.  Lobelia syphilitica—
  longiflora—inflata.  Apocynum.  Asclepias. Hydrocolile vulgaris. Cle-
  matis  vitalba,  and other species.  Pastinaca.  Saelanthus.  Calla palus-
  tris.   Phytolacca decandra.   Croton tiglium.  Various species of Arum.
  Equisetuin hyemale.  Oil of tansy.  Symplocarpus fcetida. Treatment
  of persons  who have taken these poisons.  OXALIC ACID.  Symp-
  toms—appearances on dissection—effect on animals—tests—antidotes.
  Tartaric and citric acids.   2.  Narcotic poisons.  Opium—its compound
  nature—symptoms—effects, even in small doses, on children—appearan-
  ces on dissection—effects on  animals—treatment.  Hyoscyamus  niger—
  albus, and other species.   PRUSS1C ACID.  Symptoms—effects on ani-
  mals—tests—treatment.  Plants which contain prussic acid—laurel wa-
  ter— case of Sir Theodosius Boughton—bitter almonds—kernels of the
  peach.  Lactuca.   Solanum.  Taxus baccata.  Actaea spicata. Physalis
  somnifera.   Azalea fpontica.  Peganum harmela.  Ervum ervilia.  La-
  thyrus cicera.   Paris  quadrifolia.  Gelseminum  nitidum.  Treatment.
  3.  Narcotico-acrid poisons.  Atropa belladonna.  Datura stramoni-
  um, and other  species.  Nicotiana tabacum. Digitalis purpurea.  Coni-
  iim maculatum.   Cicuta virosa—maculata.  Brucea  antidysenterica.
  Laurus  caniphora.  Cocculus indicus.  Poisonous  mushrooms—their
  characters—symptoms—appearances on dissection.   Alcohol.  Sulphu-
  ric aither.   Ergot.  Lolium  temulentum.   Diseased  wheat.  Anagallis
  arvensis.  Aristolochia clematitis.   ./Ethusa cynapium.  Ruta graveo-
  lens.  Nerium  oleander.   Mercurialispercnnis.  Chaerophyllum sylves-
  lie.  Siuui latifolium.  Coriaria myrtifolia.   Upas Tieute—Upas  antiar.
  Strychnos mix vomica.  Strychnos ignatia.   Ticunas.  Woorara.  Hip-
  pouiane mancinella. Curare.  Calidium seguinum.  Ava.  Spigelia mar
  rllandica.  Kalmia latifolia.   Sangninaria canadensis.  Treatment.
     vol. if.                   47 
370
VEGETABLE  P0IS()N.->.
  We come  now to the  consideration of  a class of
poisons, which preseut much greater obstacles to their
discovery, than the oue we have already considered.
" So far as we know,  there  are  no tests  by vvlych
vegetable poisons can be detected, and their eflects on
the primal vi* cannot in most cases, be distinguished
from those produced by various diseases." The symp-
toms are  hence the leading guide in our  investiga-
tion.*
  As the  deleterious  substances belonging to tin
vegetable kingdom are very numerous, it will greatly
facilitate the investigations of the student,  as well as
aid the practitioner, to  divide them according to their
characteristic effects.   And in doing this, I shall pur-
sue  the classification proposed by Orfila.   Whatever
may be its defects as a general system, yet as to this
particular division, it is an approach to the  truth, and
in many respects is unquestionably the best yet of-
fered.
  I  shall therefore divide vegetable poisons into three
classes—the irritating, corrosive or acrid—the narco-
tic or stupifying—aud  the narcotico-acrid.
  In proceeding  to  the consideration  of  individual
substances,  I will barely remark,  that I shall study
conciseness  as much as  possible ; and while I shall
notice all cases illustrating their effects on the humau
system, and on animals, will omit, except in remark
able instances, the symptoms and  appearances pro-
duced by their introduction into the veins.    A detail
of these  is  evidently  not  important in the present
work.  There is  also  another  consideration  which
will warrant a due degree of brevity :  Vegetable poi-
sons are  seldom the instruments of murder.  When
death is produced through their operation,  it general-
ly originates from suicide or accident,  and the  coro-

  * It sometimes happens, however, that portions of the vegetable poison
are either rejected by vomiting, or discovered in the stomach after death
in these instances, it must always be proper to reduce it by chemical ana
lysis to its proximate principle, and particularly if the body in question i-
suspected to belong to that class in which vegetable alkalies have beet
detected. 
VEGETABLE POISONS.            371
ner therefore is the only legal officer whose examina-
tion is required.

         1. Irritative  or acrid poisons,

   Veratrum album.  (White hellebore.  Indian poke.)
The root  of  this plant has long been  distinguished
for  its  poisonous  qualities.  Ettnu'ii.n- slates,   that
when applied to the  abdomen,  it  produces violent
vomiting,  and the  same phenomenon  has been ob-
served, by Schroeder, when it was used as a supposi*
tory.  Internally, it produces 'spasms,  suffocation,
loss of voice, and coldness over the body.   Vicat re-
lates the  case of a family, who  took  some  soup iu
which the root of white  hellebore had been put in-
stead of pepper.   Shortly  after,  they  were seized
with a general coldness, and their bodies became cov
ered with  an  icy sweat.   Debility and  an almost im-
perceptible pulse  succeeded, and they were not re-
lieved until vomiting came on.  The root when pow-
dered is a powerful errhine.
   When  administered  to dogs, it produced violent
vomitings and debility, and when the oesophagus was
tied,  there was violent straining,  dejection, vertigo,
and  finally death.  On dissection,  the  mucous mem-
brane of the stomach was seen red, but  not ulcerated.
The other parts were natural.   On inserting the root
in powder into a  wound ou the thigh of a dog, similar
symptoms  were produced, accompanied with  dilata-
tion  of  the pupils, and the stomach after death pre-
sented the  same  appearance as  in the previous in-
stance.*
   Veratrum viride of Aiton and Willdenow, is  a na-
tive of New-England, aud is said to have produced
dangerous  and even mortal effects.   The root is bit-

  • Orfila, vol 2, p. 3 to 6.  Pelletier and Caventou have discovered in
this plant a new alkaline principle, which they denominate Veratrine.  It
has also been detected in the seeds of the veratrum sabadilla, and the root
of thecolchicum aut'tnnaU.  It is endowed with excessive bitterness; ex-
cites, even in minute doses, violent vomiting, and a few grains destroy the
life of animals. Brande's Journal, vol. 10, p. 171.  London Med. Reposi-
tory, vol. 14, p." 127 
3T2
VEGETABLE  POISONS.
ter,  nauseous and acrid,  and burns the mouth and
fauces.*
  Helleborus niger.  (Black hellebore.)   Morgagni
mentions a case,  where an individual under cure  in
the hospital, took about half a drachm of  an extract
made with water from the roots of this substance.
He was seized with  pain and vomiting, and died  in
eight hours.   On dissection, the whole digestive ca-
nal  was found inflamed,  and the larger intestines
more so than the smaller.  There was, however,  no
gangrene,  and the limbs continued flexible for some
time after death.f
  Two cases of poisoning with this substance, have
lately been communicated  to  the Societe Medicate
d'Emulation  at Paris, by M. Ferraryr.  A domestic
took a decoction of the root in some cider, at the re-
commendation of an empiric, and his master, from cu-
riosity', swallowed a like dose.   In about three quar-
ters  of an hour,  alarming symptoms were developed,
without, however,  exciting  suspicion of  their real
cause.  Another glass-full was taken by the  servant,
when  vomiting, delirium, horrible contortions, ac-
companied with immediate coldness, supervened, and
death at last ensued.  The violence of the symptoms
were proportioned to the quantity taken.   The mas
ter died in two hours and  a half, and the servant in
one  hour and  three  quarters after its ingestion.  On
dissection sixteen hours afterwards, the appearances
in eacli were found  precisely similar, except that in
the domestic they were more strongly marked.   The
lungs were gorged with blood.   The mucous mem-
brane ofthe stomach was considerably inflamed, of a
blackish brown colour,  and reduced  to  an almost
gangrenous state.   The  oesophagus  and intestines
were natural4

  * New-England Journal, vol. 3, p. 335. Bigelow's Med. Botany, vol. 2,
>■. 125.
  I Morgagni, vol. 1, epist. 59, p. 392.
  . London Med. Repository, vol. 10, p. 424. As this was a quack remedy,
it o possible that some mineral poison may have been mixed with the bel-
le 1; ere. 
VEGETABLE  POISONS.
378
   In animals, this produces vomiting, or attempts to
 vomit, great debility, vertigo, insensibility,  and great
 torpor, and finally death.   And this, if the  dose be
 large enough, whether taken internally, or applied to
 a wound.   The stomach and intestines, and particu-
 larly the rectum, are  found inflamed, and  in one in-
 stance, the mucous membrane was ulcerated.   Slight
 congestions have also been noticed in the lungs,  and
 the bladder has been observed red and thickened.*
   Helleborus foetid us is also said to have caused the
 death of a child, who ate its root in the pulp of an ap-
 ple.f.
   Bryonia dioica.   (Bryony.)    The administration
 of bryony root has caused vomiting, fainting, violent
 pain,  profuse  alvine evacuations,  &c.   When  ad-
 ministered to dogs, in whom the cesophagus was tied,
 death ensued without any previous remarkable symp-
 tom,  but the mucous membrane of the stomach  was
 of a bright  red, and the great intestines were highly
 inflamed.}:
   Momordica  elaterium. (Wild  or squirting cucum-
 ber.)   The expressed juice ofthe fruit of this plant,
 on standing, deposits a  substance, which  has been
 variously styled an inspissated juice,  a fecula, and an
 extract, but is strictly speaking neither of them.   It
 is dried, and in that state,  forms  the medicinal arti-
 cle.   Among cathartics,  to which class it belongs in
 the materia  medica,  it is deemed the most violent,
 and indeed the severity7  of its operation is such,  that

  * Orfila, vol.2,p. 7.  London Med. Repository, vol 10, p. 426.   From
 an analysis of the roots of black hellebore by MM.  Fenuelle and Capron,
 they are found to yield, 1. A volatile oil.  2. A fatty matter.  3  A resinous
 matter.  4. Wax.  5. A volatile: acid.  6. A bitter  principle.  7. Mucus.
 8.  Alumina. 9. Gallate of potash, and acidulous gallate of lime; and 10
 A salt with an ammoniacal base.  There does not appear to be any active
principle  in this  plant. (Tilloch's I hil. Mag. vol. 60, p. 70.)  It would
seem that the resinous parts are supposed to be the principal seat of the
lethiferous properties of this plant.   (Eclectic Repertory, vol. 9, p 344.) It
is also stated that Vauquein has analyzed the helleborus hyemalis, and found
the activity of the plant to reside in a principle  contained  in the oil.
 (Brande's Journal, vol. 13, p. 150.)
 t Orffla, vol. 2. p. 11.
  ♦ Orfila, vol  2 p. 13. 
374
VEGETABLE POISONS.
 it has for a long time been banished from the practice1
 of medicine.   As its active principle is now however
 beginning to be better understood,  it is probable that
 it may again resume its place as a drastic purgative
 of great power.
   Elaterium, when given to the  amount  of three
 drachms to a dog, whose cesophagus had been tied,
 produced nausea and efforts to vomit,  moaning,  in-
 sensibility and death.   The mucous membrane of the
 stomach was found highly inflamed, as was  also  the
 rectum,  but the other intestines were  not  altered.
 Similar  effects were produced  by inserting  the ex-
 tract into a wound.*   Drs. Clutterbuck  and  Paris,
 have particularly examined the nature of this sub-
 stance.   The former  ascertained  " that the  active
 principle  of the plant is neither lodged in the  roots,
 leaves, flowers or stalks, in any considerable quanti-
 ty;  nor is it to be found in the body of the fruit it-
 self, or in the  seeds, but in th^ juice around the seeds.
 And the substance which spontaneously subsides from
 this  liquor, obtained without pressure, is genuine ela-
 terium. "   The quantity, however, that is contained in
 the fruit, is extremely small, since he only procured six
grains from forty cucumbers.    So  violent was this
article, that the one eighth part of a grain seldom fail-
ed to produce  both  vomiting and purging, and that
often violently.  The  juice itself  also  readily in-
flames the skin.f  Dr.  Paris pursued  the examina-
tion, and ascertained that not one grain in ten of the
elaterium  of commerce, possesses any active proper-
ties,  and that decimal part is owing to a new vegeta-
ble proximate  principle, which according to him, cha-
racterises  this  substance, aud which he denominated
elat in.t
   Cucumis colocynthis.  (Bitter apple.)   The only
part  of this plant which is used in medicine,  is the
dried,  spongy  or medullary part of the  fruit.   It
* Orfila, vol. 2, p. 14.
t London Med. Repertory, vol. 12, p. 6.
X Paris' Pharma*ol p. 270. 
VEGETABLE POISONS.           375
is well known  as a drastic cathartic.   Stalpart re-
lates  a  case, where an individual took some of it,
and  was  shortly after seized  with the most excru-
ciating pains  in the  abdomen, bloody evacuations,
and violent spasms.* He also quotes cases from Tul-
pius, Schenkius, and Platerus,  indicating its power-
ful  operation,  and mentions,  that in  one instance,
death followed from an enema,  in which not more
than  a drachm of colocynth had been infused.
  An individual labouring under haemorrhoids, aud
affected with iudigestion, took  two glasses  of  a de-
coction, which subsequently proved  to be that of co-
locynth.  Frequent alvine evacuations, accompanied
with  colic, were among the first effects; and some
hours afterwards, he complained of great heat in the
bowels, dryness in the fauces,  and  unquenchable
thirst.  The pulse was small and extremely rapid ;
the tongue red ; the abdomen intolerant of pressure,
and  there was a very violent fixed pain in the vici-
nity of the umbilicus.  The evacuations by the bow
els had now ceased.  The antiphlogistic regimen was
employed, but without success.   Coldness of the ex-
tremities succeeded, and  he gradually sunk, after  a
previous diminution ofthe abdominal pain.   On dis-
section, the abdominal viscera exhibited marks of the
most violent inflammation.   The peritoneal cavity
was filled with a whitish fluid,  containing flocculi  of
the same colour.   The intestines  were reddened, and
thickly studded with black specks.   Most  of them
were either adherent, or  covered with  adventitious
membrane.  The mucous  membrane of the stomach
was   detached and  ulcerated, and  the peritonaeum  in
an almost putrid condition.  Traces of inflammation
existed also iu the liver, kidneys, and bladder.
  In another case, a person labouring  under quartan
fever and  cachexy, took  the same remedy, suffered
severely from it, aud lost his fever.  Yet he contin
ued   feeble and lauguid, with  a  leaden  complexion,

  * " Fateor," he observes, " profecto nunquam me tarn horrenda in quo
quam conspexisse symptomata."  Stalpart, vol  l,p. 173. 
376
VEGETABLE POISONS.
and died, after  six  months, from an attack of para-
lysis.*
   The symptoms  produced on animals by the intro-
duction of this substance into the stomach, are in ge-
neral similar to  those experienced in the human sub-
ject.   Dissection exhibits an inflammation of the sto-
mach and rectum, while the great bulk of the intes-
tines are in a natural state.  No eschar was noticed.f
   Stalagmitis cambogioides.  (Gamboge.)  This gum-
resin,  when introduced  iu quantity into the  stomach
of animals, whose  oesophagus  was  tied, produced
violeut efforts to vomit, purging,  dejection, and death.
The mucous membrane of  the stomach was inflamed,
and some reddish spots were  seen  in  the  rectum.
When this  operation was not performed, and dogs
were  suffered to vomit, it  did not cause any serious
accident.
   Daphne  gnidium.   (Spurge  flax.  Flax-leaved
daphne.)  The  bark of this substance, like the poi-
sons already noticed, excited vomiting, local inflam-
mation and  death, and the stomach also presents  an
appearance similar to  what has been already  de-
scribed.
   Daphne mezereum.   (Mezereon.)  Acts in a simi-
lar manner.  Linnaeus relates of a young lady,  who
died from haemoptysis, occasioned by takiug twelve
berries of this  plant.J   Several other species are
deemed  poisonous.  In animals poisoned  by  the
daphne laureola, (spurge  laurel,) Orfila  observed a
sanguineous effusion below the  mucous coat of the
stomach. ||
   Ricinus communis.   (Palma Christi. Castor-oil
plant.)  The castor oil used in medicine, is obtained
by expression from the seeds of  this plant. They
act in a  most powerful manner on the system,  and

  * Quoted from the 2d French edition of Orfila's Toxicology, in London
Med. Repository, vol.  11, p. 162.
  t Orfila, vol. 2, p. 17, 21.
  t Orfila, vol.2, p. 27.
  || Andral on the morbid anatomy ofthe digestive tube.  Journal Foreign
Science, vol. 3, p. 402. 
VEGETABLE  POISONS.
377
produce  violent  vomiting and purging.   Such was
also the effect observed by Orfila on animals. Thirty
grains produced  death in a small dog,  whose ceso-
phagus was not tied.  Inflammation and ulceration
were noticed in the stomach.*
  Euphorbia ojficinarum.   The stalk of this  plant
furnishes a milky juice, which on being dried, is call-
ed  euphorbium.  It is a gum-resin.  Its medicinal
use is solely as an errhine, and farriers employ  it for
blistering horses.
  A female in Lincoln, (Eng.) took by mistake, eigh-
teen days after delivery, two ounces of  tincture of
euphorbium, prepared with  camphor, alcohol, and
euphorbium.  She immediately experienced  a violent
suffocation,  burning, and pain  in the throat and sto-
mach.   On  the administration  of warm  water,  co-
pious vomiting  was  induced, but the pain continued
for  some time, nor was it relieved until after the re-
peated application of suitable remedies.f
  In another instance, a teaspoonful was administer-
ed by a farrier in the dark, through mistake, for rhu-
barb.  A burning heat in the throat and  fauces was
immediately felt, which soon extended to the stomach
—an iucessant vomiting of watery fluid took place ;
the  tongue was covered with thick mucus ; the  pulse
was very irregular, and at least 150 in a minute; and
the patient was in a cold perspiration, and unable to
speak  intelligibly.   An emetic was  given,   but it
brought away only a  small quantityr of a thin  black
fluid ;  and mucilages and anodynes, when exhibited,
were almost instantly rejected.  The patient lived
nearly three days,  and on  opening the  body eight
hours after  death, there were found in the  stomach
several gangrenous spots,  and  its coats tore on the
slightest touch.   The spleen was much enlarged and
rotten, while the vessels of the internal coat of the
aorta were beautifully injected with blood, and show-
ed marks ofthe highest degree of inflammation.!

  * Orfila, vol. 2, p. 29.   t Case by Dr. Willis. Phil. Trans, vol. 51, p. 662
  { Brande's Journal, vol.3, p. 51.  Case communicated by Mr Fumival
    vol.. II.             48 
378            VEGETABLE POISONS.
   When introduced into the  stomach of animals,  ii
 produced violent pain and death, and the stomach on
 dissection,  contained a red, bloody fluid, mixed with
 powder of euphorbium.   Its coats were all of a very
 deep red, and the colon and rectum were highly in
 flamed.*
   Many other  species  of  euphorbia are poisonous,
 as the E. lathyris, the  E.  cyparissias, and  the E.
 tiraculli.  The second of these excoriated a man's
 face, on being rubbed with it,  and Lamotte mentions
 that  a glyster prepared  with this plant proved  fatal.
 In a person who allowed his closed  eyelids to be rub
 bed with the juice of thel£. esula, inflammation  fol-
 lowed, and it was succeeded by the loss  of the eye.f
 Hyder Ali, in  his ferocious wars against the English
 in India, ordered the  wells to be poisoued with the
 E. tiraculli.%
   Juniperus sabina.   (Savine.)   A native of Cana
 da.   Found also in the Rocky Mountains by Lewis
 and Clarke.
   This is well know n as a powerful stimulant.  When
 administered to  animals in doses  of four  and  six
 drachms, it caused death, and left inflammation ofthe
 mucous membrane ofthe stomach, with a small ulcer
 near  the pylorus.  The rectum was  somewhat inflam-
 ed.  And this last was observed in every experiment.
   Rhus radicals,   toxicodendron,  vernix.    All
 these are natives of the United States, and the 11. ra-
 dicans and  toxicodendron are deemed merely varie-
 ties ofthe same  species.
   The watery extract of the radicans, when internal-
 ly administered, or  applied to the cellular texture,
 produced a  local irritation and inflammation, and af-
 ter death, the mucous coat of the  stomach was seen
 inflamed.

  * Orfila, vol. 2, p. 43.  It is stated that Orfila has found the mucous coat
ofthe stomach in animals who had swallowed euphorbium, of a very deep
reddish brown, and this appearance is sometimes observed in the human
 subject from corrosive poison.  Journal Foreign Science, vol. 3. p. 398
  t Scopoli, quoted by Orfila.
  t Quarterly Review, vol. 18, p. 47, American edition 
VEGETABLE  POISONS.
379
   The juice of the Rhus toxicodendron, (poison oak,
poison ivy,)  is said by Fontana to have proved inno-
cent to animals who were made to swallow it; but a
very small portion of the milky juice  applied  to the
human skin,  excited swelling not only in the part
touched, but also over the face, eyelids and ears.  This
was the case with our author himself.   A severe burn-
ing and itching continued for several days, and  small
vesicles, filled with a transparent sharp humour, form
ed in  various places over his hands.   Nearly the
same symptoms occurred from touching the leaves.*
1 may  add  that  similar effects are  very common in
this country from touching this plant.   Dr. Alderson
even states,  that sphacelation has followed, in some
cases in England, of such parts  of  the skin as the
acrid juice had touched.f
   The Rhus  vernix,  (poison sumach) produces sim-
ilar effects.    Blindness, has been caused  by merely
handling it.J   And  Dr. Bigelow mentions, that he
has  known  individuals badly poisoned  in winter,
from the wood ofthe rhus vernix  accideutly burnt on
the fire.||
   Anemone  pulsatilla.  (Wind  flower.)   Bulliard
relates the  case of an old man with rheumatic gout,
who applied the  root of  this plant bruised, to the calf
of his leg, on going to  bed.   Cruel sufferings succeed-
ed for ten  or  twelve  hours,  and  the  whole limb be-

  * Med. Commentaries, vol. 12, p. 110.  " The juice of the rhus toxico-
dendron produced enormous  swellings on some labourers, in the Jardin
des Plantes, wherever it touched them."  Sage. Edinburgh Med. and Surg
Journal, vol. 9, p. 378.
  t Med. Commentaries, vol. 20, p. 10.   Mr. Van Mons has advanced an
opinion that the hurtful effects of this plant depend on a gas which it ex-
hales, during the night or in the shade, rather than on its milky juice.  He
seems to have proved the irritating effects of this gas.  Orfila, vol. 2, p. 42.
We have however  too great a mass of testimony proving the nature of the
juice, to allow us to consider it innoxious. Dr. B. S. Barton's account of
its effects on himself, is alone sufficient.   It excited itching,  swelling, and
vesicles, which desquamated. New-York Med. Repository, vol. 8, p. 200.
  X See an account of the poison wood tree in  New England, by the Hon
I'aul Dudley, F. R. S. Phil. Trans, vol. 31, p. 145.
  fl Bigelow's Medical Botany, vol. 1, p. 109.   Cases are also related by
Dr. Bigelow, p. 103 to 107, of the poisonous effects of the exhalations and
juice ot this plant 
380            VEGETABLE POISONS.
came gangrenous, nor was it  restored, until after the
application of  vigorous remedies.   The  dried root
on being pounded has excited irritation of the eyes,
itching and vomiting.   Lastly, animals to whom the
extract or the juice of the  leaves had been adminis-
tered, sunk under it, and exhibited the marks of vio-
lent inflammation in the stomach and rectum.   The.
dried powder produced no inconvenience to them.*
  The Anemone pratensis, sylvestris and nemorosa,
are also deemed poisons.  The latter produces dys-
entery in sheep when they feed on it.f   The inhabit-
ants of Kamschatka make use of this plant to poison
their arrows,  and the wounds are  most commonly
fatal. $
  Aconitum  napellus.    (Wolfsbane.  Monkshood.
Aconite.)  Mr. Bacon, a surgeon, was called to visit
a man named John Crumpler, who,  at 8 P. M. had
eaten some  sallad in  which, by mistake, a certain
quantity of aconite  had  been put.   The patient \m-
mediately felt a burning heat in the tongue and gums,
and an irritation in the cheek.  This tingling sensa-
tion extended over the whole body, accompanied with
twitchings. When Mr. Bacon saw him, his eyes and
teeth were fixed—his hands, feet, and forehead cold,
and covered with a cold sweat. No pulse  could  be
perceived, and his breath was so short as scarcely to
be distinguishable.   Oil and carduus tea were im-
mediately administered, which induced vomiting, but
the symptoms still remained aggravated.  Ammonia
was now given, when vomiting again supervened, ac-
companied  with purging.   His symptoms now im-
proved, although the pulse was  still interrupted and
 irregular; and he gradually  recovered.||

  * Orfila, vol. 2, p. 43, 44.
  t London Med. and Phys. Journal, vol. 21, p. 12.
  X Orfila, vol. 2, p. 46. Mr. Robert extracted a fluid of an acrid taste and
pungent odour, from the flowers of the anemone pratensis, which acted like
a caustic on the tongue. Vauquelin examined and confirmed his experi-
ments, and deems the substance a peculiar one, which is probably com-
 mon to the clemates and ranunculi.  It should be arranged, according to
 him, with the concrete oily substances.  London Med. Repository, vol. 14,
 p. 403.
  '| Phil. Transactions, vol. 38, p. 287. 
VEGETABLE POISONS.            381
  Mathiolus states,  that the root of this  plant  was
administered  to  four highwaymen.  Two of them,
after having experienced the most violent pains, were
saved by appropriate means ;  the other two died, one
of whom, a few hours after the administration, be-
came an idiot—the face was covered with a cold sweat
—asphyxia,  spasms,  and  syncope  took  place—he
passed involuntary stools,  vomited  bilious and livid
matter—his body swelled, and he  died apoplectic.
Willis relates, that a man died mad,  within  a very
short time  after  eating some sallad, in which there
were some of the fresh leaves of the aconitum napel-
lus.   Even its juice introduced  into a small wound
made into the thumb, has been known to give rise  to
pains in the fin»ers and arms,  cardialgia, lipothymia,
agitation,  and finally gangrene and copious suppura-
tion.*
  Effect on animals.  Mr. Brodie injected an ounce
of the juice of the leaves of aconite into the rectum of
a cat.   He soon  voided it, and then stood motionless
for  some minutes.   At the end of nine minutes, he
retched and vomited, and then  attempted to walk, but
faltered and fell  at every step, as  if from giddiness.
At the end of thirteen minutes,  he lay motionless,
except  some  slight convulsive actions of the  limbs ;
and  in forty-seven minutes from the time of the injec-
tion, he was dead.f  Orfila gave the freshly prepared
watery extract  to dogs,  with similar effects.  The
posterior extremities  were entirely paralyzed, and
great pain  seemed to be present.  When, however,
he  used the extract  purchased in the  apothecary's
shops, it was slow in its operation, and required large
doses to produce its usual effects.:}:   The  root ofthe
plant also acts as a similar, and  indeed more violent,

  * Orfila, vol. 2, p. 56. Mr. Brodie states, that if a small quantity of the
leaf of aconite be chewed, it occasions a remarkable sense  of numbness of
the lips and gums, which does not subside for two or three hours.
  t Brodie's observations and experiments on the different modes in which
death is produced by certain vegetable poisons, from Phil. Trans. 1811,  in
Eclectic Repertory, vol. 2, p. 273.
  X Orfila,  vol.2,  p. 62. This corresponds with the following fact, men-
tioned in a late journal. Ten patients, threatened with phthisis, were re^ 
382
VEGETABLE  POISONS.
 poison to animals.   Wepfer destroyed a  wolf with
 two drachms of it, and Bonetus, a young dog with half
 a drachm.
   When  applied to the  cellular texture of animals,
 by Brodie and Orfila,  the symptoms were very simi-
 lar to those previously described.   On dissection, the
 stomach and brain were generally  seen healthy,  al-
 though in a few cases,  the mucous  membrane of  the
 former was slightly  inflamed.  In  another instance,
 the rectum exhibited a few reddish  spots.
   The Aconitum cammarum is said to be no less de-
 leterious than  the napellus,  and cases of death from
 its use are related by  Mathiolus  and Bonetus.  In
 an instance mentioned by the former, vertigo and vio-
 lent commotion of the brain preceded a general swell
 ing of  the body—the countenance became livid, and
 the patient died in horrible convulsions.
   The Aconitum anthora and Aconitum lycoctonum,
 (wolfsbane,) are also deemed poisonous.*
   (Enanthe crocata. (Hemlock dropwort.)  Several
 cases are  on record of  the poisonous  effects of  this
 plant.  A  citizen  of the Hague ate, with one of  his
 friends, some of its roots.   In a short time, they both
 felt a great heat iu the stomach, which  was followed
byr alienation of mind, vertigo, cardialgia, nausea and
 diarrhoea.  One of them had  violent convulsions, the
 other bled at the nose; aud  the one who had eaten
the most, died at the  end of two hours, and the other
at the end of three.f

ceived into the hospital at Pavia, and the extract of aconite was prescribed
for them.  They took this to the amount  of half a drachm at a dose, without
any inconvenience, and indeed with improvement. All the extract, how-
ever, prepared in the hospital, being consumed, a fresh quantity was pro-
cured from the shop of an apothecary, and administered in similar doses.
Mental affections of the most alarming nature rapidly supervened, accom-
panied with other distressing  symptoms.  Borda prescribed laudanum as a
contra-stimulant, and the patients were gradually  restored.  London Med.
Repository, vol. 15, p. 540.
  * Linnaeus, however, mentions, that he was informed by the wife of the
principal clergyman of Lulea, that at a certain post-house in Lapland, she
had seen large quantities of the aconitum lycoctonum collected and boiled
for the use ofthe table, like cabbage ! She was evidently acquainted with
the plant.  Linnaeus' Tour in Lapland, vol. 2, p. 123.
  t Stalpart, vol. l,p. 182. Our author quotes cases from gmetitis, Roe= 
VEGETABLE POISONS.           383
  Eleven French prisoners walking about the town
of Pembroke,  gathered and ate by mistake a small
quantity of this plant with bread and butter.  One of
them was  shortly after seized with convulsions, and
died, in spite of every effort to save him.  The others
were attacked in  a similar manner, of whom one died,
and the other  was  relieved  by forcing  down an
emetic. None  experienced any heat at the stomach.*
  M.  Charles visited a family  who  had  eaten  the
roots of  the cenanthe.  A sensation of burning was
present in  the stomach, and small rose coloured spots
appeared  successively in different parts of the bo^y.
The abdomen in one case was greatly swollen.   Se-
veral soldiers are also said to have died  from eating
them.   The previous symptoms were nausea, vertigo,
vomiting, and violent convulsions.  Death ensued in
less than an hour after using the poison.   On dissec-
tion, the lungs were found distended,  and their ves-
sels full of black and dissolved blood.  The  bran-
chiae, trachea and mouth contained a frothy and whi-
tish fluid.   The stomach was contracted and inflamed
in its extremity and lesser curvature ; its coats were
thickened  ; the intestines were  puffed up, and their
vessels injected.  The derangements were precisely
similar in all the cases ; and the body of one, though
preserved four days, exhibited no sign of putrefaction.f
  (Enanthe fstulosa, has also frequently proved poi-
sonous.
  Ranunculus acris.   (Butter cups.)  Its leaves are
an acrid and irritating external application, producing
inflammation and ulcers.   Internally given, the juice
of its  leaves produced inflammation  of  the  mucous
membraue of the stomach.
  Ranunculus sceleratus,  (Water crowfoot)  excited

lerus, and Tima;us, in  which the root produced vertigo and violent deli-
rium! and in some instances difficult respiration a»d hiccup.
  » Howell in Phil. Trans, vol. 44, p 227, with the remarks of Mr. Watson.
See also cases of its poisonous effects by Dr. Vaughan,, m, Phil. Trans, vol
20, p. 84 ; by Dr. Watson, vol. 50, p. 856, and by Dr. Pulteney. vol. 62, i;
469.
  t Duval, quoted by Orfila. vol 3. p. 67 
384
VEGETABLE POISONS.
severe pains and convulsive movements in  Krapf, al-
though he took  only a  single flower  which he  had
well  pounded.  Its leaves and juice excoriated the
tongue and mouth,  and produced burning pain in the
cesophagus.   Pleuck destroyed a  dog with its juice,
and found the stomach red and corroded, and  the py-
lorus tumefied.  Externally applied,  it produces ex-
tensive ulcers.
   Ranunculus flammula, has often destroyed whole
flocks of animals, from grazing on it in the  spring.
   Ranunculus arvensis, poisons  sheep,  and three
ounces of its expressed juice killed a dog in four min-
utes.*
   Several other species are equally poisonous, as tho
bulbosus,ficaviu, alpestris, aquatilis, &c.f
   Colchicum autumnale.  (Meadow  saffron.)  This
plant  acquired  considerable celebrity  some years
since, from its being supposed to be the active ingre-
dient in the Eau medicinale of Husson.
   Its seeds have proved fatal to several children, in
consequence  of  eating them,  and  cattle also sutler
greatly by  them, but only in the spring,  when the
seed vessel  is fully matured.   The seed, if swallow-
ed, adheres to the coat of the  stomach, and produces
at the several points of  adhesion,  spots of  inflamma-
tion,  which occasion the death ofthe beast.J
   The following is an  instance of its poisonous ef-
fects on man.   An  ounce and a half of the  vinous
tincture of colchicum was by mistake given to a fee-
ble man, aged fifty-six, and labouring under chronic
rheumatism.   No  complaint was made until about
an hour after, when retching and acute pains at  the

  * Lond. Med. and Phys. Journal, vol. 21, p. 12.
  t The ranunculus acris, sceleratus, flammula, bulbosus,and aquatilis, are
natives ofthe United States.
  X Mr. Want, in the Annals of Philosophy, vol.4, p. 281, from information
communicated to him by Sir Joseph Banks and Mr Andrew Knight. In the
Edinburgh Annual Register, vol. 7, p. 114, it is mentioned  that a farmer
near Tetbury, lost seven yearling beasts out of eighteen, by putting them
in a pasture where this plant grew in abundance. On opening their bodies
the food was found clogged together, in a crude and undigested mass, incapa-
ble of passing through Ike proper ducts. The French call it, among othrr
names, tue cliien. from its killing dogs. 
VEGETABLE POISONS.
385
stomach came on, and  vomiting and purging super-
vened.  This state continued for nearly twentv-four
hours, when the purging ceased,  but the  most dis-
tressing nausea continued, with frequent retching.
The stools were, during the succeeding night, often
involuntary, but not bloody.  Excessive thirst came
on and continued till death, with severe pains of the
stomach and  bowels.  In  the  evening, the patient
seemed uearly exhausted;  delirium appeared ; the
pulse could scarcely  be perceived.   He lived how-
ever through the second night,  but died the morning
following.  On dissection, there was a redness of the
stomach observed, but no appearance of inflammation
in the bowels.*
   In addition  to  the vegetables already7  noticed, I
may  briefly add the following :
   Chelidonium majus, (celandine,) produced death
in animals, both  when  introduced  into  the stomach
and when applied to wounds.  Iu the former case the
stomach  was found  inflamed,  but not in  the latter.
The wounds however, were  inflamed and livid, and
in both modes of application, the lungs were seen livid
and distended with blood.   This plant is naturalized
in this country. The chelidonium glaucium has  caus-
ed delirium and purging  in  a  family, who eat of a
pye in which it had by mistake been put.f
   Delphinium staphysagria.  (Stavesacre.) An ouuce
of this  substance  introduced  into  the stomach  of
 a dog, whose  cesophagus  was tied, caused dejec-
 tion,  but neither  vertigo  or convulsions, and  death
 succeeded in fifty  hours.   The mucous membrane of
 the stomach was inflamed, but the other organs pre-
 sented no alteration.   When applied to a wound in a
 moistened state, it induced  dejection, vertigo, and fi-
 nally death.   The wound  was  inflamed and the limb

   * Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 14, p. 262.  I have  already,
 (Page 371) mentioned that the vegetable alkali, termed I tratnne, has been
 detected in  the root of this plant.
   f Phil. Transactions, yol. 20, p. 263.
     vol.  II                49 
#86            VEGETABLE POISONi,

greatly swelled, but the digestive canal was  sound.
Its local effects are evidently the most striking.*
   Narcissus pseudo-narcissus.  (Meadow narcissus,
daffodil.)  The extract of this plant, whether exter-
nally or internally applied, produced violent vomiting
or attempts to vomit.    Death shortly ensued, and in
every instance  the mucous membrane of the stomach
was inflamed, and in several, that ofthe rectum.
   Gratiola officinalis.  (Hedge hyssop.)   Death  fol-
lowed after a considerable  interval, from the intro-
duction of the extract of this substance into the stom-
ach of animals, and the mucous membrane was inflam-
ed.  The  same result followed from inserting it into
a wound, but the stomach was sound.
  Jatropha curcas. (Indian nut.)  The seeds of this
plant act  as  a violent poison,  and excite vomiting,
insensibility, great weakness and death.   Violent in-
flammation was found in  the  mucous  membrane of
the  stomach and  intestines.  It was  more active in
its operation, when introduced into the stomach, than
when applied to the cellular texture.
  The fresh root or the juice of the Jatrvpha munihot
has been long known as a violent poison.f   It pro-
duces swelling  of the body, nausea, vomitings and
purgings, pain, tenesmus, loss of sight, coldness of the
extremities, faintings and death.J
   Scilla maritima.  (Squill.) This is ranked by Or-
fila among the poisons.  In considerable doses it pro-
duced death, when given internally, and the cesopha-
gus tied ;  or when applied  externally.  The  diges-
tive canal however was always sound.

 * Lassaigne and Fenuelle have lately discovered an alkali in the seeds of
this plant, which they denominate Detphine. It appears to exist in combi-
nation with malic acid, and when pure, is described as extremely acrid.
Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, vol. 1, p. 418.  Annals of Philosophy,
vol. 16, p. 32.
 t See Piso, quoted by  Orfila, vol. 2, p. 73, and Philosophical  Transac-
tions, vol. 2, p. 634.
 X Humboldt states, that there are two kinds of juca, which furnish the
cassava or manihot. The root of the juca dulce is perfectly innocent, bui
that of the juca amarga or bitter manihot conceals a deadly poison.  Heat
however, will destroy its noxious qualities.  Edinburgh Review, vol. 16,
p. 24§, American edition. 
VEGETABLE  POISONS.
387
  Sedum acre.   (Houseleek. Wall-pepper.)   This
produced death when given internally, and the mu-
cous membrane of the stomach was seen of a fiery red
colour.
  Rhododendron chrysanthum. The decoction of this
plant has an acrid, burning taste ; it is emetic, dras-
tic, and inflames the texture to which it is applied.
The rhododendron ferrugineum is said to be equally
poisonous.  Welsch speaks of a meal which became
fatal to the guests, from having eaten of a hare which
bad been fed upon its leaves.
  Fritillaria imperialis.   (Crown  imperial.)   It is
deemed a poison by some, but in the experiments of
Orfila, death did not ensue until several days, and no
lesion was remarked in the digestive canal,
  Pedicularis palustris, has an acrid, burning taste,
and is said by Grleditsch  and Gunner to have injured
sheep and oxen.
  Cyclamen Europseum.   A violent cathartic, and it
also excites vomiting.  Bulliard states, that  its root
produces  cold  sweats,   dizziness,  and convulsive
movements—the patient voids blood by vomiting and
by  stool; and  a  super-purgation supervenes, which
proves  fatal.
  Plumbago Europsea.  Sauvages  observes, that the
workmen who make use of the decoction of this plant
for the purpose of obtaining a  yellow dye, are tor-
mented by a severe headache if they work longer than
six hours.  Its taste is acrid and almost caustic.
    Convolvulus  scammonea.   (Scammony.)   The
experiments of Orfila contradict the opinion of some
toxicologists, that the juice of this plant is poisonous.
He frequently administered four  drachms  ot it to
do-s, who had the oesophagus afterwards tied, and
he^only observed alvine  evacuations.   Ihey  lived
six or seven days.                 „ >L  e n-   i i
   Cerbera ahovai.   The nut of the  frui of this plant
is deemed highly deleterious, as also the fruit of the
 Cerbera manghas.                            .
   Cynonch»m overturn.  Plenck relates that thirty- 
;J88           VEGETABLE  POISONS.

six grains of the leaves of this plant administered to
a dog, produced violent vomiting, a trembling, con-
vulsions and death.  The  Cynanchum vimiale fur-
nishes a milky juice, extremely caustic.
  Lobelia syphilitica.  (Cardinal flower.)  A native
of  the United States.   This  is an acrid plant, and
acts as an emetic and purgative.
  The Lobelia longiflora possesses  still more ener-
getic properties.   In Spain, according to Orfila, it i«
called Rabienta cavallos, because it kills horses.
  Lobelia inflata.   (Indian tobacco.  Emetic weed.
Eye-bright.)  A native of the  United States.  This
is a powerful emetic, and distressing and  long-con-
tinued sickness often accompanies its operation. " A
melancholy  instance of death occasioned by  the use
of this plant, in the hands of a quack, is detailed  in
the sixth volume of the Massachusetts Reports,  in
the trial of Samuel  Thompson, an empiric practising
in Beverly, for the murder of Ezra Lovett.   In this
trial, it appeal ed that the patient,  being confined by a
cold, sent for the pretended physician, who gave him
three  powders of lobelia in the course of half an hour,
each of which vomited him violently, and left him in
a great perspiration during the night.  The next day
two or  more  powders were administered, each  of
which operated  by vomiting,  aud occasioned great
distress.   In like manner,  two other powders were
given the subsequent day,  leaving the patient in a
state of great  prostration.  Several  days after this,
the physician came again, and finding his patient still
worse, administered several more  powders,  which
occasioned great  distress,  and at length ceased  to
operate.  Finding that the stomach was not sensible
to the emetic effect of  the lobelia, the physician  re-
peated the dose,  and when the patient complained of
great  distress at the  breast, and said he was dying,
the doctor assured him the medicine would soon get
down, or operate as a cathartic.  However, on  the
same evening, the patient lost his reason, and  became
convulsed,  so that two men were required  to hold 
VEGETABLE  POISONS.
389
him.  To relieve which, the  doctor forced down two
more  of his powders,  and the patient, as was to be
expected, grew worse,  and continued so until he ex-
pired.
  The doctor,  who  had thus terminated the disease
and the patienfat once,  was arrested and  put upon
trial for  murder; but the homicide proving  a  legiti-
mate one, from the want of  a  sufficient  evidence  of
malice prepense, he was acquitted and  set at liber-
ty."*
   Horses  and  cattle have also been  killed from
eating this plant.
   Several species  of Apocynum,  as the androsx-
mifolium,  cannabinum  and vpnetum,  furnish  an
acrid milky juice, which inflames and  ulcerates the
skin.  The first aud  second of  these are  American
plants.                                        .  ;
   Asclepias gigantea.  Bauhin asserts, that the juice
of this given  in the dose of a drachm and a half, has
produced violent svmptoms, and a fatal haemorrhage.
When Orfila administered to dogs, the Asclepias vin-
cetoxicum, the animals died at the end  of one or two
days, aud their stomachs were found inflamed.
   Hydrocotile  vulgaris.   (Marsh pennywort.) This
plant has an acrid taste.  It is a native ofthe United
States.                                          .
   Clematis  vitalba.  (Virgin's bower.)   llematis
flammula, erecta,  and  integrifolia.  These are  all
acrid and caustic.  When applied to the skin, they
produce  redness, pustules, and excoriations; intro-
 duced  into the stomach, they occasion  an inflamma-
 tion, which destroys the animal.
   Pastinaca saliva.   The root of this plant  is said
by  Murray to have produced delirium,  vertigo, heat
at the stomach, and in the mouth and eyes, vuth tu-
mefaction of the lips.  It  is  a native ot the United
States.

   - Bigelow's American Botany, vol. 1, p. 181.  Tyngs Massachusetts Re-
 port*, vol. G. p. 134.  Commonwealth v. Thompson 
3^0            VEGETABLE  POISONS.
    The Soelanthus  quadragonus, forskalii aud glan
 dulosus, are very acrid,  and are deemed poisonous.*
    Calla palustris.   (Water arum.)   A native of the
 United States.   The root of this plant has a burning
 taste.
    Phytolacca  decandra.   (Poke.  Pigeon  berries.)
 A native ofthe United States.   Its juice is acrid, and
 acts as a violent emetic  and purgative.  Prostration
 of strength  and convulsions have  also  been induced
 by it.   On a dog,  to whom two ounces of  the liquor
 distilled from the berries were given,  Dr. Schultz of
 Pennsylvania, found it to produce nausea and drow-
 siness, with  slight spasmodic motions, but no  vomit-
 ing.   This last is, however, a common effect, f
    Croton tiglium.   The seeds  of  this plant have an
 acrid, nauseous and burning  taste.  They were for-
 merly employed  as  hydragogue purgatives, but on ac-
 count of the  violence of their  operation, were com-
 pletely  laid aside.   One seed is sufficient for a dose,
 and  even this sometimes excites violent purging and
 vomiting.|
   Within  a  few years past the expressed oil of this
 plant has come into considerable use as an article of
 materia medica.  From one  to three drops is a dose,§
 and tremors and delirium have  been known to occur
 in a male patient from a  dose of two drops. ||
   Arum maculatum, (Wake robin)  A. dracunculus,
 dracontium,  seguinum,  triphyllum, and other spe-
 cies.   The third  and fifth are  natives of the United
 States.
   These are all acrid, and have produced dangerous

  *  Orfila, vol. 2, p. 83.  I must remark,  that I cannot find any plant of
 this name either in Linnaeus or Persoon.
  t  Bigelow's Amer. Med. Botany, vol  1, p. 48.
  X  See Edin. Med. and Surg Jour. vol. 13, p. 256.  Further proofs of its
violent action are mentioned in  a paper by Mr. Frost,  (from the Lond.
Med. Repository,)  in the Amer. Med. Recorder, vol. 5, p. 615.
  §  According to  Dr. Nimmo of Glasgow,  the kernels ofthe seeds ofthe
Croton are composed of 37 parts of acrid purgative principle, 33 of fixed
oil, and 40 of farinaceous matter in the hundred.  The oil itself consists of
45 acrid principle,  and 55 fixed oil.  Brande's Journal, vol. 13, p. 62.  See
also Quart, Jour. Foreign Med. and Surg. vol. 4, p. 288.
  I|  Dr. Francis   MS. Communication. 
VEGETABLE POISONS.            391
effects.  When  the  fresh  root of the A. maculatum
was given by Orfila to dogs, they died at the end of
from twenty-four to thirty-six hours, without any oth-
er symptom than  dejection, and the digestive canal
was found somewhat inflamed.    Bulliard relates the
following case :  " Three children ate of the leaves of
this plant.  They  were seized with horrible convul-
sions,  and with two  of them all assistance was una-
vailing, as they could  not  be made to swallow any
thing.   They died, one at  the  expiration of twelve
days,  and another  at the expiration of sixteen.   The
third .was  saved with  difficulty.   Its  tongue was
greatly swelled, and hence deglutition  was painful
and difficult."*
   To  these, I will  take the liberty of adding, Equise-
tum hyemale. (Scour grass.)  A  native of the United
States.
   This is said to be fatal to horses who eat it, and on
examination, the stomachs are found cut and lacerat-
ed by  the plant, f
   Tanacetum  vulgare.  A naturalized plant.  Oil of
tansy.   Dr. Francis mentions that a pregnant female
lost her life in  1816, at New-York, from taking half
an ounce of it.  Great pain and anxiety about the epi-
gastrium were experienced until  her death, which
happened within a few hours.f
   Symplocarpus foztida.  (Salisbury.) Ictodes foztidus
(Bigelow.) (Skunk cabbage.) A native ofthe United
States.
   This plant emits a very pungent  odour from the
spathe and flower.    Dr. Barton was seized with in-
flammation of the eyes, in consequence of the neces-
sary examination which he gave to it.§   A dose of

  • Orfila, vel. 2, p. 83.
  t Barton's Med. and Pbys.  Journal, vol. 1, part 1, p. 149.  Our author
remarks that its fatality is attributed by some, to the cylinders of ice con-
tained in its stem.  Sir George Mackensie, in his travels in Iceland, p. 420,
states, on the authority of Dr. Hooker, that this plant is used as excel-
lent food for horses in that Island.
  X New-York Med.  and Phys. Journal, vol. 2, p. 27.
  4> Dr. W. P. Barton's Medical Botany, article Symplocarpus. 
392            VEGETABLE POISONS.
thirty grains of the root has caused vomiting, head-
ache, vertigo, and temporary blindness.*
   As to the treatment of persons who have taken poi-
sons of this class, I can only offer general directions.
Vomiting and the evacuation of the  deleterious  «ub-
staot e  are  to he encouraged  by mucilaginous drinks.
If inflammation  be dreaded, the  antiphlogistic regi-
men  is  proper.    Coffee is  recommended by Orfila,
iu cases where considerable stupefaction ensues.
   I shall conclude the examination  of this class of
vegetable poisons, with the notice of a substance, de-
rived from  vegetables, and from vegetable products j
viz. the

                    OXALIC  ACID.

   Numerous deaths  have occurred in England with-
in a few years, from   the administration of this  sub-
stance.   It was generally taken in an accidental man-
ner,  having been mistaken for  the  sulphate of mag-
nesia, a salt which it resembles in external character.
The  facility of  the  occurrence of these  accidents  is
increased from the circumstance,  that it is frequently
applied to  several  domestic purposes,  such as the
cleaning of leather,  and the removal  of iron-mould
and ink-spots.
   The cases substantiating  the deleterious effects  of
oxalic acid, are  contained  in the leading periodical
publications of  the  day, and from  a  comparison  of
these,  I am enabled to present the following account
of its effects.f

   * Bigelow's  Medical Botany, vol. 2, p. 48.
   t I may premise, that after I had prepared the article on this poison, and
within a few days before it  was required by the  printer, I received the
 Edinburgh Med and Surg. Journal for April, 1823, which contains an ela-
borate and valuable paper on poisoning by oxalic acid, By Professor Chris-
tison and Dr Coindet.  These gentlemen have investigated its effects on
animals, and its chemical habitudes, with great ability,  aud I have been
 much indebted on these points to their examinations.
   With these preliminary remarks, I observe, that  the following cases have
 been noticed in preparing the accompanying article :—1. Case by Mr. Roys-
 ton. London Med. Repository, vol. 1, p. 382.  2. Do. by Mr. Roberts. Ibid.
 vol. 3, p. 380.   3. Do. by Mr. George Johnson. Ibid. vol. 6, p, 474.  4. Do. 
VEGETABLE  POISONS.
393
  When the solution  is strong, (and this is usually
the case, from its being mistaken for epsom salts,) its
corrosive nature is such as to excoriate  the  mouth in
a violent manner.   A young man purchased some for
the  purpose  of committing suicide, but  its extreme
pungency made him hesitate in swallowing it, while
it was yet in  his mouth. His life was thus preserved,
but a most dreadful.excoriation of the tongue, mouth
and gums,  was the consequence.*  So  also in Mr.
Fraser's case,  the  tongue was  greatly swollen, and
had the appearance of being scalded.   I do not, how-
ever, find any notice of this in the  other  cases,  pro-
bably because the solution was diluted, or (which is
more likely) taken down at a single swallow.
  Death ensued with great rapidity—in forty minutes
in one case, and in fifteen minutes  in two others.  A
few hours is  generally the term.  The patient under
the care  of Mr. Fraser, however,  survived several
days, and finally died of the secondary  effects.  As
this case is peculiar, I shall notice it at length here-
after.
  Violent and most acute pain, excessive vomiting of
a dark-coloured or sanguineolent  fluid, catharsis,  a
pulse imperceptible at the wrist, and a  sunken coun-
tenance, indicating the nearness  of death,  seem  to  be
the symptoms observed.
  Appearances  on  dissection.  These indicate the
presence of a powerful acid.   In Mr. Royston's case,
where the subject  was a  female, who  died in forty
minutes,  the  villous coat of the stomach was injected
with blood, and florid over its whole surface. Patches

by Mr. Williams. Ibid. vol. 11, p. 20. 5. Do. by Dr. Smith, vol. 12, p. 18.
6 &l 7. Two cases in  Edinburgh Med.  and Surg. Journal, vol. 13, p. 249
8. Case by Mr. W. W. Fraser. Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 14,
p. 607.  9. Case of Michael Dillon, in Cooper's Tracts on Medical Juris-
prudence, p. 449, from a London paper.
  To these, Drs. Christison and Coindet add cases from the Dublin Hospital
Reports, from Dr. Perey's  Inaugural Dissertation, and from the London
Courier. Probably the last is the case quoted by Dr. Cooper. If so, we have
eleven cases on record, nine of whom proved fatal, and only two recover-
ed ; and these nine cases (all accidental) occurred within two years and a
half, in England.  Brande's Journal, vol. 3, p. 49
   London Med. Repository, vol. 7, p. 626.
    VOL. II.                50 
394
VEGETABLE POISONS.
of an extraordinary intensity were also noticed,  iu
other cases the coat was entirely  corroded, and in-
deed the stomach perforated, so that its contents had
escaped into the cavity of the abdomen.  The ceso-
phagus of one individual was so injured, that its cu
ticular coat peeled off with the slightest effort.*
  The intestines sometimes partook in the inflamma-
tion and contraction, and at other times not.  But the
viscera of the thorax and the brain do  not appear to
have been diseased in those cases where their exami
nation is noticed.
  In the case related by  Mr. Fraser,  an individual
took half an ounce of oxalic acid iu solution, instead
of salts.  He  instantly became conscious of the  mis-
take,  from  perceiving the acid taste.   Pain and  vo
miting ensued, and although they were mitigated in
some degree by alkaline remedies, yet they recurred
with  violence.  Spasms, impeded respiration,  and
general numbness were  complained  of; the  pulse
was scarcely perceptible at the wrists or temples ; the
extremities were cold, and the matter vomited became
tinged with  blood.  After a short time, he brought
up a large  quantity of blood.  Diluents were freely
administered,  together with anodynes, and  his situa-
tion  gradually became more tolerable.   Numbness,
however, occasionally occurred, and was relieved by
warm applications,  and a drink of sago and  wine.
On the second  day, vomiting, retching, spasms, and
singultus supervened ; the pulse was nearly 100, and
feeble,  and numbness and dullness of  the  feet were
present.  A repetition of previous remedies gradually
moderated these, but the hiccup continued for several
days.   On  the sixth day, he  felt himself so well as,
contrary' to directions,  to  ride  out iu  a gig.   After
this,  debility came on gradually; an  eruption  ap-
peared over the whole  body, and hiccup was occa-
sionally present.   He retained his senses until the

  * " A quantity of a dark-coloured fluid, resembling coffee-grounds, and
probably consisting of extravasated blood altered by the poison, was ge-
nerally found in the stomach." Christison and Coindet. 
VEGETABLE POISONS.
395
day before his death, and complained  often on swal-
lowing any article which was  not  perfectly  bland.
He expired fourteen days after taking the poison., in
a state of perfect exhaustion.
  On dissection, the stomach and a small  portion of
the intestines presented  the marks of inflammation ;
the villous coat was completely destroyed, and this
abrasion extended upwards throughout the whole of
the cesophagus, exposing  the muscular  coat.    In
some parts the villous coat seemed entire, but ou ex-
amination, it was found to be soft, and easily  rubbed
off with the finger or sponge.  The muscular  coat of
the stomach and  cesophagus  was  much  thickened,
highly injected, and exhibited a dark gangrenous ap-
pearance.  No perforation of  the stomach was ob-
servable.
  The small intestines  exhibited similar  appearan-
ces, but partially and in a lighter degree.   The other
viscera were healthy.
   Effect on animals.   On this  point, we have the ex-
periments of Mr. A. T. Thomson, and those of Drs.
Christison and Coindet.   The former gentleman pro-
duced death in a very  few minutes, by  introducing
from ten grains to  half a drachm into the stomachs of
rabbits and dogs.  Convulsive movements generally
preceded the fatal termination,  and on dissection, the
stomach was found very rotten, diaphonous and pulpy
to the touch, and its blood vessels enlarged and very
black.   The mucus  contained in it was coagulated.
The lun°-s were inflamed, and  the blood found in the
lungs, heart, abdomen,  and the frothy fluid  found in
the bronchial cells, showed  traces of  an acid.  The
cesophagus and pharynx were healthy.*
   In the experiments of Christison and Coindet, the
cesophagus was tied in every  instance, and  the vio-
lence  of  the efforts to vomit was directly in  propor-
tion to the quantity of the poison.   Death however,
always succeeded after a short interval.   On dissec-
London Med. Repository, vol. 3. p. 383 
396            VEGETABLE POISONS.
 tion the stomach was found filled with the dark col-
 oured fluid already noticed, when speaking ofthe ex-
 aminations of the human subject, and  which is evi-
 dently extravasated blood acted on by the acid.  The
 internal membrane of the stomach was always of a
 deep cherry-red colour, and generally streaked with
 Hues of black, granular extravasation.   The degree
 of corrosion induced appears to depend on the strength
 ofthe acid.
   When portions of a dead stomach were submitted
 to the action of a saturated solution, the mucous epi-
 dermis separated, and  appeared thickened and brit-
 tle.   After some hours the villous coat was also acted
 upon and in  two days, it was brittle and easily scrap-
 ed off, and the other tunics were softened, swollen,
 and translucent.   It thus evidently exerts a powerful
 chemical action on the organs  concerned.
  These observers also noticed, that a small quantity
 of acid, when diluted, destroys an animal much soon-
 er than when concentrated, and  on dissection, no un-
 natural appearance whatever could be detected in the
 stomach, excepting a slight cineritious tint of the mu-
 cous epidermis.
  The result drawn from their numerous experiments
 is, that oxalic acid in most circumstances acts through
 the medium of absorption.  They could not however
 detect its presence in any of the fluids *
  Tests, (a) Taste the suspected  substance—if it
 be oxalic acid, it is very sour;  if epsom salts,  very
 bitter and saline.
  (b)  Litmus and blue sugar-loaf paper are red-
 dened by the acid, but not affected by the salts.
  (c) Take a little writing ink and drop it ou one or
 two of the suspected crystals.   If they be epsom salts
 no alteration will occur, but if oxalic acid  be present,
the ink will become of a reddish  brown, and no long-
er appears as ink,  since the acid dissolves the black
oxide, and forms oxalate of iron.f  These tests are
* Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 19, p. 163 to 186.
t Quarterly Journal, Foreign Med. and Surg. vol. 5, p. 152. 
VEGETABLE POISONS.
397
principally  valuable as precautionary ones.   Drs.
Christison and Coindet recommed the three following
to be used on all suspected  fluids found  either in the
stomach, or vomited.
   (d)  Decolorize the fluid, if necessary, with chlo-
rine.  The hydrochlorate of lime, if the solution con-
tains oxalic acid or oxalate  of lime, vvill throw down
an insoluble oxalate of lime.  But it also precipitates
with the carbonates, sulphates, phosphates, &c. This
then is to be distinguished  by the following experi-
ments : The nitric acid will not take up the sulphate of
lime, but a few drops of it dissolved the oxalate. The
hydrochloric (muriatic) acid will not dissolve the oxa-
late, unless in very large quantity, while two or three
drops will take up the carbonate, phosphate, tartrate,
or citrate.
   (e) Decolorize  as  before,  and add sulphate of
copper.  It precipitates oxalic acid bluish-white, and
the oxalates pale-blue.  The only objection to this is,
that it  precipitates the carbonates,  and  throws down
the  phosphoric acid, whether free or combined.  The
muriatic acid must be here  again used as above.
   ffj  Nitrate of silver gives a heavy white precipi-
tate.   With oxalic acid, and still better with the ox-
 alates ; and this precipitate, when dried and heated
 over a candle, becomes brown on the edge, then of a
 sudden fulminates  faintly, and is all  dispersed in
 white fumes.  This is deemed a very delicate test, as
 from a quarter of a grain dissolved  in 4000 parts of
 water, the  experiments procured enough of the pow-
 der to show its  fulmination twice.
   These tests are very little influenced  by the pres
 ence of such animal matter as may exist in the sus-
 pected fluid, after  boiling  and filtration.  The chief
 animal principle theu present is gelatine, and neither
 the hydrochlorate of lime,  sulphate of copper,  or ni-
 trate of silver, precipitate it  alone.   They there-
 fore, and especially the two  first, will not be affected
 by  its presence, but when  it is present in very large
 proportion, it suspends the action of nitrate of silver. 
398
VEGETABLE POISONS.
   If magnesia or chalk has been used as an antidote,
 boil the powder in pure water, and then subject the
 filtered liquor to the three tests already described.*
   Antidotes.   Death is generally so sudden  in these
 cases, that but little can be done.
   Mr. Thomson recommends a mixture of chalk and
 water to be given as soon as  possible.  Oxalate  of
 lime  will thus be formed in the stomach.j-   Magnesia
 may  also be advisable.  The alkalies  should not  he
 given, as Christison and  Condet  found death to fol-
 low in animals from the exhibition of the oxalates of
 potash and ammonia, in a few minutes.
   Should  the patient be  so fortunate as  to  recover
 from the immediate effects, it will be advisable to era
 ploy stimulants, as brandyr, friction, and hot fomenta-
 tions.
   It  has been supposed that Tartaric and Citric acids
 in large quantities, would act in a similar manner on
 the human system.

              2. Narcotic poisons.

   Narcotic poisons are defined by Orfila to be thos e
 which produce stupor,  drowsiness,  paralysis or apo-
 plexy and convulsions.

                      OPIUM.
   This  substance  is the inspissated  juice of the
 Papaver somniferum, or common white  poppy, ob-
 tained by incision  into the capsules when  they have
 arrived at a certain state of maturity.   Its appearance
 and character are well known,  and  I shall hence not
 enlarge  upon them at this  time.   It has  also been
 ascertained within  a  few years, that it  is a very
 compound substance, consisting, according to the la-
test examinations of chemists,  of the following con-
 stituents : resin, gum, bitter extractive, sulphate of

  " Edin. Med. and Surg. Jour. vol. 19, p. 198, 199.
  + Lond. Med. Rep. vol. 3, p. 388.  A case, in which this evidently proved
 serviceable, is related in the same work, vol. 12, p. 18. 
VEGETABLE POISONS.
39.9
lime, gluten, and three new bodies, narcotine, morphia

and  meconic  acid.    Of these,  I shall give some ac-

count in  the note,  but in  my present remarks,  shall

confine   myself  principally to  a consideration of the

poison in its compound state.*

   Symptoms.   When opium or laudanum are taken

in large  quantities, the following  symptoms are usu-


  *  Derosne appears to have been the first of modern chemists who analy-
zed opium with success.  He found in it in 1803, acrystallizable substance.
which was styled alter liiui the salt of Derosne.  In 1817, the discoveries of
Sertuerner, of Einibeck,  in HanOver, were published.   He announced a
new alkaline body, morphia, and a new vegetable acid, the meconic.  Mor-
phia was obtained by  him,  by digesting opium with distilled water for a
considerable time, aud then  adding ammonia in excess.  A precipitate was
caused, which formed into crystals,  and these crystals were impure mor^
phia.   As to its action on the human  system, it may be remarked,  that.
when uucombined, it had little effect, on account of its  insolubility ; but
when dissolved in alcohol,  half a grain produced a general  redness over
the body.  Three half grains taken within an hour, caused a sense of weak-
ness, faintness, and a general stiffness.   Meconic acid is also obtained fro.u
the  liquor precipitated  by the ammonia.  This  he found did  not produce
any sensible effects, as he  took five  grains without any inconvenience.
  Robiquet shortly after published  a new process for obtaining morphia,
viz. boiling the opium with magnesia.  This leaves a precipitate,  which is
boiled with alcohol, and the  latter menstruum dissolves the morphia.  Or-
fila  and Magendie  now  examined this  substance and its  compounds
Twelve grains of morphia introduced  into the stomach of dogs, produced
no sensible  effect, while the  same quantity  of the watery extract of opium
caused violent  symptoms  of poisoning, and sometimes even death.  This
inertness is owing to its insolubility,but when dissolved iu vinegar or iu oil
of olives, it acts as a powerful and ready poison.
  A new experimenter afterwards presented the result of his investigations,
viz. M. Robiquet.  As the  investigations of Magendie had shown that the
salt of Derosne (or narcotine, as Robiquet styled it) produced a stupor dif-
fering from  real sleep, and  acted as a poison on dogs in small doses, he
conceived that he might render opium a more soothing medicine, by de-
priving it of this irritating principle.  And  accordingly  after macerating
the opium in water, he evaporated it to a thick syrup, and then treated it
with ether.   This etherous tincture  is  submitted to distillation as long as
crystals of narcotine are obtained.  When  the ether has no longer any ac-
tion on the extract, he evaporates the solution, and the opium is prepared.
  As these experiments were  in opposition to the conclusions  of Orfila;
the latter undertook  several  new experiments, in order to settle the ques-
tion, and he ha* satisfied himself of  the following results:—1. That opium
owes its venomous qualities to the morphia, as well as to the salt of De-
rosne, which it contains.  2. That these two compounds act very differ-
ently on the human economy,   3. That the known action of opium is the
result ofthe combination of these two compounds.  4. That the toxic qua-
lity of opium must be attributed principally to the morphia, since the ex-
tract deprived of the salt of Derosne, kills the animals in the same space of
time as the common extract.
  For further information ou this interesting subject, I  must refer to the
following works, from which the above abstract is collected. London Med
Repository, vol. 8, p. 433; vol. 9, p. 332. Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Jour
nal, vol. 18, p. 151.  Brande's Journal, vol. 12, p. 311.  Chapman's Jour-
nal, vol. 3,  p. 187; vol. 6, p. 45. Annals,  vol. 12,  p. 65; vol. 13, p. 153
Quart. Jonr. For. Med. and Surg. vol. 3, p. 250 to 254. 
400
VEGETABLE POISONS.
ally observed within a short time : insensibility and
immobility,  respiration scarcely  perceptible,  and a
small  and  feeble  pulse,  which  sometimes becomes
full aud slow.   As the effects increase, the lethargic
state becomes more profound, deglutition is suspend-
ed, the breathing is occasionally sterterous, the pupils
are insensible to the application of light, the counten-
ance is pale and cadaverous,  and the muscles of the
limbs and trunk are in a state  of relaxation. Vomiting
sometimes supervenes, and  there is  an occasional
glimpse of returning animation,  but the comatose state
soon returns, and  death, which is often preceded by
convulsions, rapidly follows.
   The bladder is sometimes  unable to contract on its
contents,  and  attempts to empty  it prove useless.*
While again in cases of recovery, such a weakness
will be left in the lower extremities, and approaching
so  near to paralysis,  that it cannot  retain its con-
tents, f
   Two instances  are mentioned  in  which  vomiting
was the sole  effect induced from taking large quanti-
ties of opium.   In one case,  an ounce of laudanum
was swallowed at  midnight,  the  individual  went to
sleep,  and shortly  after rising,  began  to vomit, and
continued doing so during the day.  The next day he
was well.  In  the other, three ounces produced, after
a few  hours, a similar resull.J
   On its effects, when taken as a substitute for spirit-
uous liquors, it is not necessary  for me  to dilate.  The
Turks, as is well known, are of all nations the  most
generally attached to its use, and the following des-
cription of the Teriakis, or opium  eaters, of Constan-
tinople, fully explains the consequences.    " Pale,
emaciated, and ricketty, sunk into a profound stupor,
or agitated by the grimaces  of delirium, their persons
are after the  first view, easily to be  recognized, and

 * See case by Mr. Cornish, London  Med. and Phys. Journal, vol. 31, p.
193, and  also a case, Ibid. vol. 28, p. 80.
 t An instance of this kind by Mr. Murley, is quoted in the Eclectic Rep
ertory, fronrtiie London Med. Review for October, 1811.
 X London Med. Rep. vol. 9, p. 525. vol.  10, p.  175. 
VEGETABLE POISONS.
401
made an impression too deep to be speedily erased.
The increasing attachments for wine has diminished
the consumption of opium, but there are still Teriakis
who will swallow in  a glass of water, three or four
lozenges, amounting to one hundred grains."*
   There is however  one  point connected with this
subject,  which deserves  serious notice.   I allude to
the practice so much in vogue, of administering pare-
goric, laudanum,  Godfrey's cordial,  and other pre-
parations of opium to infants  of a tender age.   The
consequences are costiveness—a pallid countenance
—tremulous and  often convulsive motions—-emacia-
tion—stupor or fretfulness.   The stomach becomes
disordered,  vomiting  occasionally supervenes;  the
stools are dark coloured  and foetid,  and a perfect
state  of atrophy is present before death closes the
scene.   These are the effects of a continuance of this
most  pernicious treatment,  and it is to be feared that
it prevails very extensively.  Dr. Clarke, at Notting-
ham, in England,  stated  some  years since, that in
that town alone, upwards of two hundred pounds of
opium, and above six hundred pints of Godfrey's cor-
dial were annually retailed to the poorer class.f
   Appearances on dissection.   Although  the  cases
are numerous of death by this poison, yet the exam-
inations  of the body have been few and imperfect.  If
taken in large quantity, some portion of it will gene-
rally  be  found in the stomach or intestines.^  But the
condition of these organs is usnally not  much  varied
from  the healthy state.
   In  a case already mentioned, the body was covered
with  red brown patches on  the arms, shoulders and

 * Hobhouse's Albania, vol. 2, p. 944. London edition.  See also  Philo-
sophical Transactions, vol. 19, p 288.
 t Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 4, p. 271, and vol. 12, p. 423.
 } I say generally, but there  are several cases mentioned, where none
could be discovered after death, as in the case of a soldier, who took two
drachms of opium, and died in six hours and a half.   London Med. Repos.
itory, vol. 14, p. 426.  See also Edinburgh Med. aud Surg. Journal, vol. 19,
p. 196.  Case related by Dr. Christison, and London Med. and Phys. Jout^
vol. 31. p. 193. Case by Mr. Cornish.
    VOTi.  JT.              51 
402
\ EGETABLE POISONS.
 nucha, the day after death, the face was pale, and the
 mouth filled with froth.   There was a general con-
 gestion of black blood in the brain ;  the dura mater
 was injected, and even the capillaries gave out on in-
 cision, minute drops of black blood.   The heart was
 filled with the same, as were the lungs, and the bron-
 chia? were reddish.  The stomach was swollen, and
 had red-brown patches at its fundus.   The intestinal
 mucous membrane was minutely injected—being  the
 effect of  congestion and  not of inflammation.  The
 liver and spleen were gorged with  blood,  and the
 bladder and kidnies sound.*
  In Mr. Stanley's case, related in the Transactions
 of the London College  of Physicians,  water was
 found in  the cellular tissue of the pia mater, covering
 the greater part ofthe cerebrum, but in other respects
 the brain had no unusual appearance.   The stomach
 was contracted and filled with a fluid,  not resembling
 laudanum either in colour or  smell.   There was no
 inflammation present.f
  In Mr. Cornish's case, coagulable lymph was effu-
 sed lietween the dura mater,  the arachnoid coat and
 the pia mater, and there was rather more fluid than is
 usual in the lateral ventricles.  The stomach was nat-
ural, and the  bladder contained  about   a  pint  of
 urine.J
  Effect on animals.  Crude opium, or its watery ex-
tract, when introduced into the stomach of dogs, caus-
 ed within a  few hours, a weakness and paralysis of
 the posterior extremities, and  convulsions of the mus-
 cles of the trunk and face.   The pupils of  the eye
 were not, however,  more dilated than  natural, and
 there was no moaning,  but an  extreme  dejection.
 The paralysis and  convulsions increased  until death
 supervened.   Similar effects were produced when

 * London  Med. Repertory, vol. 14, p. 426. In  a case quoted by Orfila,
from Lassus, the stomach is also said to have been inflamed. These how-
 ever, I believe, are rare cases.
 t Vol. 6, p. 414.
 X London  Med. and Phys. Journal, vol. 31, p. 193.  The same state ofthe
bladder was  seen in another case.  Ibid. vol. 28, p. 80. 
VEGETABLE POISONS.            408
the  cesophagus  was tied,  except  that  death ensued
earlier, from large doses.
   When the watery extract was inserted into the cel-
lular tissue of the thigh of a dog, paralysis ofthe pos>
terior extremities, convulsions and accelerated circu-
lation, with trembling of the  head  and twitches  of
the lower jaw occurred, and death followed in a much
shorter time than  in  the previous  series of experi-
ments.    The  injection of the extract into the anus,
produced the earlier symptoms of the poison, but the
animals recovered.
   Dissections generally presented the digestive canal
in a sound state.   The lungs however were usually
livid and distended with blood, aud the blood in the
ventricles was often black and coagulated.*
   Treatment.   On this  point, I must necessarily be
brief, but a few remarks on it, can hardly ever be mis-
placed in a work of this nature.
   The experiments of Orfila have demonstrated, that
the administration of vinegar or other vegetable  acids
previous  to the evacuation of the poison by  vomiting,
will accelerate and aggravate the action ofthe opium;
but that when the opium has previously been expell-
ed, water acidulated  with vinegar  or any  other ve-
getable acid, will tend to diminish  and correct the
effects.    Coffee, when prepared in the form of strong
decoction or infusion, rapidly lessens the symptoms,
but cannot be considered as an antidote.   The results
of his experiments led him to give the following di-
rections for the treatment of a person poisoned by opi-
um.   Induce vomiting, if  possible, with  sulphate of
copper,  tartar  emetic, or  sulphate of zinc.   And
the administration of watery liquors, with the view of

  * Orfila, vol. 2, p. 110 to 116.  The experiments of Fontana made some
forty years since, led him to the result, that the watery solution would kill
animals by injecting it into the cellular tissue, or into the anus, but when
the opium was dissolved in alkohol, its effects were much quicker and more
violent.  He hence drew the conclusion, that this difference was the effect
ofthe alkohol, but such an opinion is evidently untenable, while the diver-
sity of results is readily explained by the late discoveries concerning opi-
um. See an account of Fontana's experiments in the Med. Commentaries,
vol.12, p. 113. 
404
VEGETABLE  POISONS.
 promoting the  vomiting should be forbidden, as they

 dissolve the opium and promote  its absorption.  Bleed

 the patient immediately after the rejection of the poi-

 son, and repeat this if necessary.   Afterwards,  ad-

 minister alternately water acidulated  with any veget-

 able acid, and a strong infusion of  coffee warmed.

 And in ten or twelve hours exhibit an enema, and let

 the arms and legs of thepatient be well rubbed.   Pur-

 gative  clysters should be continued, if it be suspected

 that any  of the opium still remains in the large  intes-

 tines.*

   These directions  comprise, I  apprehend,  the most

 valuable part of the practice now adopted in cases  of

 poisoning by opium, and numerous instances are  on

 record,  which either directly or indirectly strengthen

 them.   Another  circumstance  which increases their

 value, is the  fact that  they are principally deduced

 from experiments on animals.f

   The affusion  of cold water on the   head  and over

 the body,J must also doubtless  prove a valuable as-

 sistant^


  "Orfila, vol. 2, p. 172 to 193.
  i A reference to a few cases may be useful to the examiner; and of these,
 that related by Dr. Marcet, (Medico-Chirurg. Transactions, vol. 1, p. 77,) is
 one ofthe most instructive.  The patient had swallowed six ounces of lau-
 danum. Six hours after, when dissolution was apparently near, the sulphate
 of copper was given, and induced vomiting.  He was kept incessantly  on
 his legs, and internal stimulants were freely administered. Blisters and si-
 napisms were also applied to the  feet.  By persisting in this  course, and
 aiding it by other judicious treatment, for which I refer to the case, the pa-
 tient recovered.—See also cases of recovery in Edinburgh Med. and Surg.
 Journal, vol. 7, p. 305, by Mr. M'Kechnie.  Ibid. vol. 14, p. 603, by Dr.
 Kinnis.  Ibid. vol. 17, p. 226, by Mr. Richardson. Venesection was used in
 this instance with great success.  Ibid.  vol.  18, p.  49, two cases by Dr.
 Howison.  Ibid. vol. 18, p. 343, by Dr. Kennedy.  Ibid. vol. 19, p. 247,  by
 Mr.  Ross.  Here also venesection,  after the administration of emetics,
 proved successful in removing the comatose symptoms.  New-York Med.
 Repository, vol. 5, p.  124, by  Dr. Rush, recommending venesection, and
 itating four  cases in  which it was successfully used. This was  in 1801.
 Ibid. vol. 16, p. 10, by Dr. Akerly.  A curious fact is  mentioned by Dr. A.
 A lunatic stole two ounces of laudanum, which was super-saturated with
 carbonate of potash,  and swallowed it. It  produced no bad effects.—1
 may add  in this place, that I have known most happy results from a repeti-
 tion of strong enemas of assafcetida, particularly during the latter comatose
stage.
  X Successful cases in which this  was a leading remedy, are related  by
 Mr. Wray and Dr. Copeland, in the London Med. Repository.  See Journal
 foreign Science, vol. 3, p. 62 and 65.
  'I The  mode proposed by Mr. Jukes,  (of extracting the poisoa by a sy 
VEGETABLE POISONS.
405
  Hyoscyamus niger* (Black henbane.)   Natural-
ized in the northern states and in Canada.   Several
cases are on record of the baneful effects of this plant.
Wcpfer mentions that several monks made a  repast
on the roots of wild endive, among which were mixed
by mistake  two roots  of  henbane.   In a few hours,
some experienced  vertigo; others  a burning  of the
tongue, lips and throat.   Severe pains were also felt
in the iliac region,  and in all  the joints.  The intel-
lectual faculties and organs of vision were perverted,
and they gave themselves up to actions that  were mad
and ridiculous.  They, however, recovered.   In other
cases, a haggard countenance, dilatation ofthe pupils,
difficult breathings, small and intermittent pulse, loss
of speech, trismus, and  temporary loss of intellect,
have been the principal   symptoms,  while  the extre-
mities have been observed cold and nearly paralyzed.
A glyster prepared of a decoction of henbane, caused
a numbness and loss of motion of the upper and lower
extremities,  propensity  to  sleep,  and  difficulty of
hearing.f
   Dr. Patouillat, of Toucy in France, saw  nine per-
 sons poisoned  with this root.   Some were speechless
 aud convulsed ; others occasionally howled.  In all,
 there was a protrusion ofthe eyes,  contortion of the
 mouth, and delirium.   Emetics relieved  them,  but
 their sight w as for some  days affected, and all objects
 appeared red like  scarlet.$          „,,„■,
   The vapours of this   plant  and of belladonna are
 said to have been  lately  used by Hufeland in nervous
 affections.   When exposed  to this, even although
 precautions were  taken to prevent the fumes from

 rinee introduced into the stomach,) also deserves attention in extreme.
 easts.  He used it successfully  ou himself. See New-England Journal,
 V°* MeUsneV and Brandes have discovered an alkaline body in this plant,
 which they term hyoscyama, and in which they conceive the poisonous
 oroirties to be concentrated. The vapour of it is very injurious to the
 eTe? and tSe most minute fragments placed on the tongue prove very de-
 leterious.  Tilloch, vol. 57, p. 308. Brande's Journal, vol. 11, p. 205.
   + Orfila, vol. 2, p. 135 to 139. Fodere, vol. 4, p. 25.
    K  Transactions, vol.  40, p. 446. See also add t.,onal cases by Dr.
 Stldrnan, in Ibid. vol. 47, p. 194 ;  by Sir Hans Sloane, Ibid. vol. 38, p. 99. 
406
VEGETABLE  POISONS.
reaching the face, profuse perspiration ensued, with
a sense of fulness in the head, and sometimes tremors,
difficult respiration, and vertigo.*
  On animals, the juice and  decoction  of  the root
produced lethargic effects, but very seldom  any gid-
diness or convulsions.  When applied to the cellular
texture, death ensued sooner, and  vomiting  occurred
in one case, but generally the  comatose symptoms
were  all that Were observed.  No inflammation  was
noticed in the stomach ;  the lungs were occasionally
livid, and black blood was observed in the heart.
  Hyoscyamus albus.  (White henbane.)   The fol-
lowing case is an example of its effects.  In  April,
1792,  a  large quantity'  was carried by  mistake on
board the French  orvette,  La Sardine, which the
sailors had  gathered in one of the isles of Sapienzi in
the Morea, where the vessel then was.   A part of it
was  put into tin ship's copper,  and the remainder
into those of some of the subaltern officers.   At four
o'clock they all dined.   In a short time,  vertigo, vo-
miting, convulsions, gripes  and  purging, were gene-
rally experienced; and  when Dr. Picard,  the sur-
geon, came on board, he observed the gunner making
a thousand  grimaces and contortions.   By keeping
up the evacuations, most of them recovered ; but those
in whom there were none, remained for some time in
a sickly condition.f
  The Hyoscyamus aureus, physaloides and  scopolia,
are also deemed poisonous.

       prussic acid.  {'Hydrocyanic Acid.J

  This substance in its concentrated state,  is one of
the most energetic of poisons, and its virulence varies
with its strength.
  The following case is related  on the authority of
Hufeland, as an example of its effects.  A man about
to be taken up as a thief, swallowed an ounce at 2 P.
* Monthly Journal of Medicine, vol. 1, p. 296.
t Fodere, vol. 4, p. 23. 
VEGETABLE POISONS.
407
M.  He staggered a few steps, and fell.   The pulse
could not be felt, and there was no trace of breathing.
In a few minutes, a single and violent expiration took
place.  The  extremities  were  cold ;  the eyes half
open and  shining, but without any irritability.   At
night he was stiff.   The blood on dissection had the
smell of bitter almonds.  The pia mater  and vessels
of the brain were  filled with blood.  The  stomach
was highly inflamed, and presented gangrenous spots
of the size of a sixpence.  The villous  coat separated
on the slightest pressure of the nails.   The intestines
were healthy—the liver natural, but filled with black
blood.   All  the blood was  collected in the veins,
while the  arteries  were empty, and it was generally
of a black-blue colour, fluid,  yet thick like  oil,  and
had a most penetrating smell of bitter almonds.*
   Orfila also relates the  following  as communicated
to him by M. Fueter.  " M. B. professor of chemist-
ry, left, from forgetfulness, a flask, containing alcohol
saturated  with  prussic acid.  The servant-girl,  se-
duced by the agreeable smell ofthe liquor, swallowed
a small glass of it.  At the expiration of two minutes,
she fell dead, as if she had been struck with apoplexy.
 The body  was not opened."!
   The inspiration of this substance when diffused in
 the state of gas through his laboratory, caused in Dr.
 Ittner, oppression  and painful respiration, giddiness,
 vertigo, and burning heat.J
   It is not necessary at this time to enlarge on its use
 in medicine, but I will only  observe that no  caution
 can  be too great  in administering this highly power-
 ful agent. ||
   Effects on animals.  Two drops of the acid  pre

   * London Med. Repository, vol. 4, p. 506.
   t Orfila, vol. 2, p. 147.                 ,..«•»    i   j
   1 American Med. Rec. vol. 2, p. 530.  See also the effects produced on
 Prof. Silliman, from breaking a bottle in his laboratory,  billiman s Jour.
 V0|l  Tile following articles deserve perusal on this point—on the deleterious
 effects of the hydrocyanic acid, by Dr. Randolph, of Philadelphia.  Amer
 Med. Rec. vol.4, p. 456.  Review of Granville's treatise on prussic acid
 Ibid. vol. 4, p. 562. 
408
VEGETABLE POISONS.
pared according^ the process of Scheele, and which
consequently  contained considerable water, caused a
bitch to stagger, fall and vomit.  Eight drops induced
weakness, plaintive cries, purging,  falling down, te-
tanic stiffness, dilatation of the pupils,  paralysis, in-
sensibility, and at length sleep.   " In fifteen minutes
the animal rose up, passed some urine,  experienced
an opisthotonos, and in half an hour was recovered."
Thirty or  forty drops destroy dogs and cats in six,
twelve or fifteen minutes  after taking them,  and the
blood is all found in the veins, the arteries being emp-
ty, while the  muscles are pale.   Convulsions gener-
ally attend the administration of this poison.
  Animals of various classes equally sink under its
effects—a carp who was made to swallow twenty-four
drops-—snails, helices, leeches, crabs, lobsters,  bees,
ants, and grasshoppers.   A cow,  according to Em-
mert, died with all the phenomena of opisthotonos,
a few seconds after injecting half  a drachm into the
trachea.*
  M. Robert exposed animals to the aperture of a
matrass,  in which prussic acid had been distilled, and
the air of which consequently was a mixture of the
atmospheric fluid with the vapour of this acid.   Birds,
rabbits, cats,  and  dogs, all died in a short space of
time—from an instant to six  minutes.   The  liquid
acid in its  pure state, and also dissolved in alcohol,
was  equally,  but not so  promptly destructive.  He
examined  a dog destroyed by it.   The  brain was
healthy,  but exhaled the odour of prussic acid.   The
tongue was soft, bluish,  and hung  out of the mouth.
The mucous membrane of the trachea was injected.
The lungs wrere of a bright red hue,  and the  heart
was  filled with very dirty deep  red blood.   The
veius contained thick and dark coloured blood.   The
lungs and heart,  and  their  contents,  exhaled the
odour of prussic acid.f

  * Orfila, vol. 2, p. 142 to 146.
  » See his experiments in the Lond. Med. Rep. vol. 3, p. 243 to 249 
VEGETABLE POISONS.
409
  These details are sufficient  to  illustrate the effects
of this poison, and I will content myself with referring
the examiner to some other sources of information on
this point.*
   Tests.   Dr.  Granville,  iu  his treatise on the prus-
sic acid,  recommends  the  following  :  collect the
blood contained in the ventricles ofthe heart, a por-
tion of the contents of the stomach, and of the superi-
or  intestines,  together  with  any certain quantity of
any fluid that may be present within the cavity of the
head, chest, or  abdomen.  Having agitated this mix-
ture for some time in distilled water  and  filtered it,
proceed to  the following  experiments.    (a) To  a
small quantity  ofthe liquid, add a few drops of a so-
lution of caustic potash in alcohol.  (6)  To this, add
a few drops of  sulphate of iron, and if prussic acid be
present, a cloudy and reddish precipitate, ofthe col-
our of burnt terra-sieua will fall down,   (c) Now in-
troduce some sulphuric acid,  when the colour of the
precipitate will instantly change to that of a bluish-
green, which, by a permanent contact with the atmos-
pheric air,  becomes gradually  of a  beautiful  blue.
Or, (a) treat the filtered liquor with carbonate of pot-
ash ;  (b)  add a solution of sulphate of iron with  a
small quantity  of alum.   A precipitate, as in the for-
mer method, will fall down,  which, if treated by (c)
sulphuric  acid  will also become blue and pulverulent.
During this last experiment,  carbonic acid gas is dis-
engaged.  The precipitate, which is a true Prussian
blue, may also be decomposed.!
   Antidotes.   Where a substance acts with such tre-
mendous vigour,  it is difficult to present an antidote,

  « Essay on prussic acid, by Davis and Parent.  Amer. Med. Rec.  vol
2 n 573. Experiments by Dr. Davie, Eclectic Repertory, vol. 10  p. 24b.
 \ few drops thrown  on the eye of a cat, caused death  Annals of PhHoso-
nhv vol l* P 23.  It is here stated that Magendie dipped a rod into the
acid prepared according to Gay l.ussac's method and brought it in contact
with the tongue of an animal.  Death ensued before the rod could be with-
drawn. See also Gay Lussac's essay on prussic acid, in the Annals, vol*
7 and 8, and Magendie's, in Brande's Journal, vol. 4, p. 347
  t New-England Journal, vol. 10, p. 362.
     VOL. II                52 
110
VEGETABLE  POISONS.
which shall counteract its effects.   Aud accordingly
we know of none that deserves the name.   Dr. Gran-
ville  recommends brandy  and  water,  with perhaps
some liquid ammonia—and  the latter in  combina-
tion with  diluted camphorated  spirit, or  oil of tur-
pentine, as the most efficacious.*
   Caustic  potash, when combined  with prussic acid,
previous to its administration, destroys  its poisonous
efl'ectj, and it has hence been suggested  as an anti-
dote, but in the experiments where it was used, it fail-
ed in counteracting the effects.4;
   Prussic  acid is also the poisonous ingredient in se-
veral vegetables, such as the
  Primus  lauro-cerasus.  (Cherry-laurel.)
  Amygdalus communis.   (Bitter almonds.)
  Amygdalus  persica.   (The Peach,  its kernels,
     leaves and flowers.)
  Primus  Avium.  (Black cherry, its kernels.)
  Primus  Padus.%    {Bird cherry tree, its bark.)
  As prussic acid is characterized  by an odour simi-
lar to that of bitter almonds, it has been conjectured,
that all substances  possessing  this odour,  contain
prussic acid, aud experiments, so far as they have ad-
vanced, somewhat confirm this opinion.
   Primus lauro cerasus.   The distilled water of tlii--
plant has been proved a poison by numerous experi-
menters. ||    I  shall very briefly notice the results ob-
tained.

  * New England Journal, vol. 10, p. 361.  Mr. John  Murray also recom
mends ammonia, as he has recovered several animals to whom large dose?
were given, by dropping it into their mouths. Edinburgh Phil. Journal vol,
7, p. 124.
  t Orfila, vol. 2, p. 194. Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journ. vol. 13, p. 208.
American Med. Recorder, vol. 2, p. 536 to 540.
  X Schfader, an apothecary at Berlin, was the individual who discovered
that the prussic acid is contained in the aqua lauro-cerasi and the distilled
water of the flowers of the peach tree, as likewise in the infusion of bitter
almonds.  London Med. and Phys. Journal, vol. 10, p. 95.  Bergmann, also
an apothecary at Berlin, discovered in  1811, that the bark of the prunus
padus contained a notable quantity of it. Annals of Philosophy, vol. 5, p.
28.  See also a paper by Vauquelin, on the presence of prussic acid in ve-
getables, from  the Annates de Chimie.  Repertory of Arts, 2d series, vol.2,
p. 461.  He detected this substance in the kernels of apricots.
  |] Orfila enumerates the following:  Madden, Mortimer, Browne, Lang-
rish,  Nicholls, Stenzelius, Heberden, Watson, Vater, Rattray, the Abbe
Rozier, Duhamel and Fontana. 
VEGETABLE POISONS.
411
   When applied to  wounds  in animals, it induced
vomiting, convulsions,  great prostration of strength,
diminished sensibility, and death.   Injected into the
stomach and rectum, it excited  a similar train  of
symptoms, except  that  in the latter the convulsions
were more violent,  and tetanus of the extremities was
present.  Its action was most rapid and intense when
injected into  the jugular vein.*
   Several cases are recorded of its effects on the hu-
man subject.   One of the earliest happened in Dublin
in 1728.  Martha  Boyse, servant to a person  who
sold large quantities of this water, gave to her mother
a bottle of it, and by the latter it was given to Frances
Eaton, her sister.   Mrs.  Eaton was a shopkeeper,
and thinking it a compliment to her customers, offered
them some. Among others, one Mary Whaley drank
of it;  went to another shop, and in about a quarter of
an hour, complained of a violent disorder in her sto-
mach.  She was carried home,  and  from  that  time
lost her speech,  and died in about an hour, without
vomiting or purging, or any convulsions.   Mrs.  Ann
Boyse was informed of this, and  came immediately
to her sister.  She affirmed  that  it could  not  have
been the cordial that caused  the death, and to con-
vince  her of it, she filled out three spoonfuls and
drank it, and shortly after, two more.  In  a few mi-
nutes she died, without a groan or convulsions.f
   Fodere says, that when he was attending his stu-
dies at Turin in 1784, the chamber-maid  and man-
servant of a noble family of that town, stole, for the
purpose of regaling themselves,  from their master, a
bottle of  distilled  laurel-water,  which they  took  for
an excellent cordial.   Fearful  of being  surprised,
they hastily  swallowed, one  after the other, several
mouthfuls of it, but they soon paid the price of  their
dishonesty, for they expired almost  instantly in con-

  ► Orfila vol. 2, p. 148  to 153.  Also an analysis of the experiments of
Fontana.'in the Med. Commentaries, vol. 12, p. 106.             .
 ° Ph"lTransactions, vol. 37, p. 84.  Communicated by Dr. Madden.
His experiments on animals are also contained in the same article.  Dr.
Mortimer's, in vol. 37, p. 163.  Fontana',. in vol. 70 p. 163 
 412           VEGETABLE  POISONS.

 vulsions.   The dead bodies were carried to I he uni-
 versity for examination.  The  stomach was found
 highly inflamed, but the rest of the organs were in a
 sound state.*
   It has also formed the subject of investigation in a
 very interesting criminal trial, whether this substance
 was the cause of death ; and as cases of criminal poi-
 soning by vegetable substances are very rare, 1 shall
 present a full abstract of it.  The trial was that of
 Capt. Donellan for the murder of Sir T. Boughton.
   Sir Theodosius Boughton was a young gentleman
 of fortune,  in the county of Warwick in England,
 and nearly arrived at the age of  twenty-one.   His
 mother, and his brother-in-law Capt. Donellan,  and
 his sister, (Mrs. Donellan,) resided with him. In the
 event of his dying before the period of his  majority,
 the greatest part of his fortune descended to his sis-
 ter,  and Capt, Donellan would thus become entitled
 to a life estate in it.
   Sir Theodosius was labouring under a slight vene-
 real affection, for which he was attended by Mr.
 Powell, an apothecary at Rugby.  His general health
 is, however, stated to have been good.  On the 29th
 of August,  1780,  Mr. Powell sent him a draught to
 be taken on the next morning, consisting of  rhubarb
 and jalap, each fifteen  grains; spirits of lavender,
 twenty drops; nutmeg water, two  drachms ;  simple
 syrup, two drachms, and an ounce and a half of sim-
 ple water.   The bottle containing this  draught  was
 placed on a shelf in his bed-room.
   Sir Theodosius returned  in the afternoon of  this
 day from fishing, in good health and spirits.   In the
 morning, a servant awoke him at  an early  hour, for
the purpose of obtaining some  straps for a net.   He
 arose, and went into, the next room for them.   Even
now he appeared in perfect health.   About 7 A. M.
Lady Boughton got up and went into his room, as he
had before desired her to give him the medicine. She
'Fodere, vol. 4. p. 27. 
V KGETABLE POISONS.
413
enquired whether  he had taken it, or  whether he
chose that she should give it to him,   He desired her
to reach down the draught, which  was labelled—
" Purging draught for Sir T. B."  and she poured it
into a cup, for the purpose of his taking it.  He  had
not, however, swallowed more than half of it, when
he complained that it v\as so nauseous  to the taste,
and disagreeable to the smell,  that he did  not appre-
hend  he should be  able to keep it  on his stomach.
This  remark induced Lady Boughton  to smell  the
draught.  She found it very peculiar in this respect,
and observed to  him, that it  smelt  very strongly of
bitter almonds.  He  eat some cheese, in order to take
the taste out of his mouth, and afterwards washed his
mouth with  some water.  In about two minutes after
swallowing  the draught, he appeared to struggle very
much, as if to keep it down, and had  a rattling and
guggling at  his stomach.  These symptoms continued
about  ten minutes, when he seemed to Lady  Bough-
ton to be inclined to go to sleep, and she left the room.
She  returned agaiiwn about  five minutes, and  was
surprised to find him with his eyes fixed upwards,
his teeth clenched,  and froth  running out  of his
mouth.  He died  in about half an  hour afterwards,
having never spoken since he  took the draught.
   Mr. Donellan came into the room when Sir Theo-
dosius was dying,  and  inquired of Lady Boughton
where the physic bottle was.   She showed it to him.
He immediately took and poured water into it, shook
it, and then emptied  its  contents into the wash-hand
basin.  And  he persisted in  doing this with another
bottle, although  Lady Boughton remonstrated,  and
objected to his conduct.  Mr. Powell was  sent  for,
but arrived after the  death of  Sir Theodosius.
   It appeared also in evidence, that Capt. Donellan
had a still in his own room, and that he had used it
for distilling roses.  Some days after the death of Sir
T. he brought this still to one  of the servants to be
cleaned.  It was full of lime,  and the lime was wet.
On the other hand, it appeared on the cross examina- 
411           VEGETABLE  POISONS.

don of Lady Boughton, that Sir T. a short time be
fore his death, had bought a quantity of arsenic, in
order to poison fish, and some  of this was afterwards
found locked up in his closet.
   Suspicions soon began to be excited as to the cause
of this sudden decease, and  when  these reached the
ears of Sir William Wheeler, the guardian of the
young baronet, he wrote to Captain  Donellan, inform-
ing him of the rumors that were abroad, and request-
ing him to  have the body opened, in order to satisfy
the family and the public.   Donellan,  in his answer,
immediately consented  to this, and  sent for some me-
dical  gentlemen.   He, however, did not  explain to
them the cause of his request;  and as they were thus
led to suppose it merely an ordinary case, they declin-
ed the performance,  from the  circumstance that the
body was already far advanced in a state of putrefac-
tion.  It is not necessary,  nor indeed  does it belong
to this statement, to enumerate  the various devices by
which Captain Donellan evidently  attempted to elude
the wishes of Sir William Wheeler respecting a dis-
section.  On the eighth  day after death,   the body
was buried, but it was taken up immediately after by
the coroner,  and opened.  It  was found swoln and
distended, the face was black, the lips swoln and re-
tracted and showing the gums, the teeth black,  the
tongue protruding, and  the skin spotted in many parts
of the body.  " The orifices and small arch of the sto-
mach,  and the intestines, bore the  appearance of in-
flammation, the heart was natural, the lungs were suf-
fused with blood,  looking red and spotted in many
places, with black specks, and on  the back part, the
blood had settled in a deep red colour,  almost ap-
proaching to purple ; the diaphragm was in the same
state, and in general, upon the depending surfaces of
the body,  the blood was settled in the like manner ;
the kidneys appeared black as tinder, and the liver
much in  the same  state."   There was also  some
blood extravasated in the thorax.
   Several  physicians  and surgeons, (Dr.  Rattray, 
              VEGETABLE POISONS.           415

Dr. Ashe, Dr. Parsons, professor of anatomy at Ox-
ford, and Mr. Wilmer,) deposed, that they had per-
formed  experiments on auimals with laurel  water,
and found the effects very similar to the symptoms in
the case of Sir Theodosius.  Death  succeeded  in a
few minutes,  after having been preceded by convul-
sions.  The appearances on dissection also agreed.
   It may be mentioned in this place,  that Mr. Pow-
ell prepared a draught precisely alike to that which
he had sent to the baronet, with the addition of some
laurel water, and Lady Boughton on  being requested
to smell this, stated that it resembled the one she had
given to her son.
   The counsel for the prisoner, in their cross examin-
ation, enquired ofthe medical witnesses, whether the
presence of epilepsy or apoplexy would not account for
the symptoms observed ? To this, a  negative answer
was given.   Dr. Parsons thought they resembled the
latter most, but he was decided in attributing them to
the  effects  of the  medicine.  Sir Theodosius was
young, and of a thin habit, aud it was hence very im-
probable that apoplexy should have caused his death.
   They also enquired, whether the  appearances ob-
 served on dissection might not be the effects of putre-
 faction.   It was allowed  that the external might, but
 not the internal.
   On the part of the  prisouer,  the  celebrated John
 Hunter was  summoned  as  a  witness.  As this is
 probably the only time when that  distinguished  sur-
 geon appeared before a court to testify on a case  of
 poisoning, and as his examination  is peculiarly inter-
 esting, I conceive that I shall do a service by quoting
 it entire.

 Mr. John Hunter sworn; examined by Mr.JS'ewn
                       ham.

   Q.  Have you heard the evidence that has been giv-
 en by these gentlemen ?
    \! I have been  present the whole time. 
116
VEGETABLE POISONS.
  Q.  Did you hear Lady Houghton's evidence "i
  A.  I heard the whole.
  Q.  Did you attend to the symptoms her Ladyship
described, as appearing upon Sir Theodosius Bough-
ton, after the medicine was given him ?
  A.  I did.                  ✓
  Q.  Can any certain inference upou physical or chi-
rui'gical principles be drawn from  those symptoms,
or from the  appearances  externally or internally of
the body, to  euable you, in your judgment to decide,
that the death was occasioned by poison ?
  A.  I was  in London then, a gentleman who is in
court  waited on me with a copy of  the examination
of Mr. Powell, and Lady Boughton, and an account
ofthe dissection, and the physical  gentlemen's opin-
ion upon that dissection.
  Q.  I don't wish to go into that, I put my question
in a general  way ?
  A.  The whole  appearances upon the dissection,
explain nothing but putrefaction.
  Q.  You have  been long in the habit of dissecting
human subjects? I presume you have dissected more
than any man in Europe ?
  A.  I have  dissected  some thousands during these
thirty-three years.
  Q. Are those appearances you have heard describ-
ed, such in your judgment, as are the result of putre-
faction in dead subjects ?
  A.  Entirely.
  Q. Are the symptoms that appeared after the medi-
cine was given, such as necessarily conclude that the
person had taken poison ?
  A.  Certainly not.
  Q.  If an apoplexy had come on, would  not the
symptoms have been nearly or somewhat similar?
  A.  Very much the same.
  Q.  Have you ever known or heard of a young sub-
ject dying of an apoplectic or epileptic fit ?
  A.  Certainly ; but with regard to the apoplexy not
so frequent, young subjects will perhaps die more fre- 
VEGETABLE POISONS.
417
quently of epilepsies than old ones ; children are dy-
iti2; every day fro n teething, which is a species of epi-
lepsy arising from an irritation.
   Q. Did  you ever in your practice, know an instance
of laurel water being given to a human subject?
   A. No, never.
   Q. Is any certain analogy to be drawn from the ef-
fects of any given species of poison upon an animal of
the brute creation, to that it may have upon a human
subject?
   A. As far as my experience goes, which is  not a
very  confined  one,  because 1 have poisoned  some
thousands of animals, they are very nearly the same,
opium  for instance  will  poison a dog  similar to a
man, arsenic will have very near the same effect  upon
a dog, as it would have,  1  take for granted, upon a
man ;  I know something of the effects of them, and I
believe their operations will be nearly similar.
   Q. Are there not many  things  which will kill ani-
mals almost instantaneously, that will have no detri-
mental or noxious effect  upon  the human subject;
spirits, for instance occur to me?
   A.  I apprehend a great  deal depends  upon the
mode  of experiment;  no man is fit to make one, but
those who have made many, and  paid considerable
attention to all the circumstances that relate to  expe-
riments.  It is a common experiment which 1 believe
seldom fails, and is  in the mouth of every body, that
a little brandy will kill a cat; I  have made the  expe-
riment, and have killed several cats, but it  is a false
experiment; in all those cases where it kills the cat,
it kills the cat by getting  into her lungs,  not into her
 stomach,  because if you convey the same quantity of
 brandy, or three times as  much  into the  stomach, in
 such a way as the lungs shall not be affected, the cat
 will not die;  now in those experiments that are made
 by forcing an animal to drink, there are two opera-
 tions going on, one is a refusing  the  liquor, by the
 animal, its kicking and  working  with its throat, to 
118           VEGETABLE  POISONS.
refuse it, the other  is a forcing the liquor  upon the
animal, and there are  very few operations of that
kind, but some of the liquor goes into the lungs. I
have known it from experience.
   Q. If you had been called upon to dissect a body,
suspected to have died of poison, should you or not
have thought it necessary to have pursued your search
through the guts ?
   A. Certainly.
   Q. Do you not apprehend that you  would have
been more likely to  receive information from thence
than any other part of the frame ?
   A. That is the track of the poison,  and I certainly
should have followed that track through.
   Q. You have heard  of the  froth issuing from  Sir
Theodosius' mouth, a minute or two before  he died,
is that peculiar to a  man dying of poison, or is it not
very common in many other complaints ?
   A. I fancy it is a general effect, of people dying in
what you may call  health, in  an apoplexy or  epi-
lepsy,  in all sudden deaths,  where a person was a
moment before that in perfect health.
   Q. Have you ever had an opportunity of seeing
such appearances upon such subjects ?
   A. Hundreds of times.
   Q. Should you consider yourself bound, by such
an appearance, to impute the death of the subject to
poison ?
   A. No, certainly  not;  I should rather suspect an
apoplexy, and I wish in this case, the head had been
opened to remove  all doubts.
   Q. If the head had been opened, do you apprehend
all doubts would have beeu removed ?
   A. It would have been still farther removed, be-
cause, although the body was putrid so that one could
not tell whether it  was a  recent inflammation,  yet
an apoplexy arises from an extravasation of blood in
the brain, which would have laid in a coagulum.  I
apprehend although  the body was putrid, that would
have been much more visible than the effect any poi
son could have had upon the stomach or intestines. 
VEGETABLE POISONS.
419
  l{. Then in your judgment upon the appearances
the gentlemen  have described, no  inference  can be
drawn from thence  that Sir Theodosius  Boughton
died of poison ?
  A.  Certainly not; it does not give the least suspi-
cion.
        Cross-examined by Mr. Howorth.
  Q. Having heard the account to-day that Sir The-
odosius Boughton, apparently in perfect health, had
swallowed a draught which produced the symptoms
described, I ask you whether any reasonable  man
can entertain a doubt  that that draught whatever it
was, produced those appearances ?
   A. I don't know well what answer to make to that
question,
   Q. Having heard the account given ofthe health of
this young gentleman, on the morning previous to tak-
ing the draught, and the symptoms that were produ-
ced  immediately upon  taking the draught, I ask
your opinion as a man of judgment, whether you  don't
think that draught was the occasion of his death ?
   A. Witli regard to his being in health, that explains
nothing ;   we frequently,  and indeed generally, see
the healthiest people dying suddenly, therefore I shall
lay little stress upon that; as to the circumstances  of
the draught, I own they are suspicious, every man  is
as good a judge as I am.
   (hurt.   You  are  to  give your opinion upon the
symptoms only,  not upon any other evidence given.
   Mr. Howorth.   Upon the symptoms immediately
produced, after the swallowing of that draught,  I ask
whether in your judgment and opinion, that draught
did not occasion his death ?  A.I can only say, that
it is a circumstauce in favor of such an opinion.
   Court.  That the draught was the occasion ot his
death?   A No; because the  symptoms  afterwards
were those of a man dying, who was before in perfect
health : a man dying of an epilepsy or apoplexy, the
 symptoms would give one those general ideas. 
420
VEGETABLE POISONS.
   Court.  It is the general idea you are asked about
now, from the symptoms that appeared upon Sir The-
odosius Boughton,  immediately after  he took the
draught, followed  by his death so very  soon after;
whether upon that part of the case, you are of opin-
ion that the draught was the occasion of his death ?
  A. If I knew the draught was poison, I should say,
most probably, that the symptoms arose from that;
but when 1 don't know that that draught was  poison,
when I consider  that a number of other things might
occasion his death, I cannot answer positively to it.
   Court.  You recollect  the circumstance that was
mentioned of  a violent heaving in the stomach?   A.
All that is the effect ofthe voluntary action being lost,
and nothing going on but the involuntary.
  Mr. Howorth.   Then you decline giving any opin-
ion upon the subject ?  A. I don't form any opinion
to myself;  I cannot form an opinion because I  can
conceive if he had taken a draught of poison, it arose
from that; I can conceive it  might  arise from other
causes,
  Q. If you are at all acquainted with the effects and
operations of distilled laurel water, whether the hav-
ing swallowed a draught of that, would not have pro-
duced the symptoms described  ?  A.  I  should sup-
pose it would ; I can only say this ofthe experiments
1 have made of laurel water upon animals, it has not
been near so quick; I have injected  laurel water di-
rectly into the blood of dogs, and they have not died ;
I have thrown laurel water,  with a  precaution,  into
the stomach, and it never produced so quick au effect
with me, as described by those gentlemen.
   Q. But you admit that laurel water would  have
produced  symptoms such as have been described ?
   A.  I can conceive it might.
   Mr. JSTewnham. Would not an apoplexy  or epi-
lepsy,  if it had  seized Sir Theodosius Boughton at
this time,  though he had taken  no physic at all, have
produced similar symptoms too ?  A. Certainly. 
VEGBTABLE  POISONS.
421
    t|. Where a father has died of apoplexy, is that not
  understood, in some  measure, to be constitutional ?
    A. There is no disease w hatever, that becomes con-
  stitutional, but what can be given to a child.  There
  is no disease which is acquired, that can he given to a
  child ;  but whatever is constitutional  in the father,
  the father has a power of giving that to the children ;
l  by which means it becomes what is called hereditary;
E there is no such thing as an heretlitary disease ; but
  there is an hereditary disposition for a disease.
    Mr. Howorth. Do you call  apoplexy constitution-
  al?   A. We see most diseases are constitutional; the
 k small pox is constitutional, though it requires an im-
  mediate cause to produce the effects.  The  venereal
  disease is hereditary.   I conceive  apoplexy as much
  constitutional as any disease whatever.
     Q. Is apoplexy likely to attack  a thin young man
j  who had been in a course of taking cooling medicines
J before ?  A. Not so likely, surely,  as another man ;
   but  I have, in my  account of  dissections, two young
  women dying of apoplexies.
     Q. But in such  an habit of body, particularly at-
   tended with the circumstance of having taken cooling
   medicines, it was  very unlikely to happen ?   A. I do
   not know the nature of medicines  so well as to know-
   that it would hinder an apoplexy  from taking effect.
     Court. Give me your opinion in the best manner you
   can, one way or the other,  whether upon the whole of
   the symptoms described, the death proceeded from that
   medicine, or any other cause?  A.  I do not mean to
   equivocate, hut when I tell the sentiments of my own
   mind, what I feel at the time, I can give nothing de-
   cisive.
     The judge, (the Hon. Francis Buller) in  summing
   up  the evidence,  after stating that four medical wit-
   nesses were decided in attributing the death to the ef-
   fects of laurel water,  made the following comments
   on the testimony of Mr. Hunter:  "For the  prisoner
   you have  had  one gentleman called, who is  likewise
   of the faculty, and a very able man.   I can hardly 
422            VEGETABLE POISON*.
say what his opinion is, for he does not seem to have
formed any opinion at all ofthe matter.   He, at first,
said he could not form an opinion whether the death
was or was not occasioned by the poison, because he
could conceive that it might be ascribed to other caus-
es.  I wished very much to have got a direct answer
from Mr. Hunter, if I could,  what,  upon the  whole,
was the result of  his attention and application to the
subject, and what was his present  opinion, but he
says he can say  nothing decisive.  So,that, upon this
point, if you are to determine upon the evidence ofthe
gentlemen who  are skilled in the faculty only,  you
have the very positive opinion, of four or five gentle-
men of the faculty, that the deceased died of poison.
On the other side, you have what I really cannot my-
self call  more  than  the doubt of another; for it is
agreed  by Mr. Hunter, that the  laurel water  would
produce the symptoms which are  described.    He
says an epilepsy or apoplexy would produce the same
symptoms ; but as to an apoplexy,  it is not likely to
attack so young and so thin a  man as Sir Theodosius
was ; and as to an epilepsy, the other witnesses tell
you, they don't think the symptoms  which have been
spoken of, do show that Sir Theodosius had any epi-
lepsy at the time."
  The  jury retired  for about an  hour, and then
brought in  a verdict of guilty,  and  Capt. Donellan
was executed in a few days thereafter.*
  It was, and still is, a prevailing opinion with many,
that Sir Theodosius  Boughton was not poisoned, and
that Captain Donellan was innocent.   Dr. Male noti-
ces this case, as " a melancholy and striking instance
of the unhappy effects of popular prejudice, and the
fatal consequences of  medical  ignorance."!   Mr.
Phillips in his  " Theory of presumptive  proof,"

 * This abstract is taken from  a folio pamphlet, entitled " The trial of
John Donellan for the wilful murder of  Sir Theodosius Edward Allesley
Boughton, bart. at the assize at Warwick, on Friday, March 30, 1781, be-
fore the Hon. Francis Buller, Esq. one  of the justices of hfs  majesty's
court of king's bench.  The second edition.   Taken in short-hand by Jo-
seph Gurney." London,  1781.             t Male, p. 86. 
VEGETABLE POISONS.
423
adduces it  as an instance  where  a man was unwar-
rantably condemned on circumstantial evidence.*
  f cannot agree with either of these gentlemen, al-
though 1 will readily allow that too much dependence
was placed on the appearances found on  dissection.
Putrefaction was evidently too far advanced to render
them a certain ground of testimony.
  As a  medical man, it  might be enquired of Dr.
Male, whether the symptoms preceding  this death
have not been most strikingly and astonishingly veri-
fied, as probably originating from laurel water/by the
subsequent investigations of chemists aud physicians.
Mr. Hunter, in his testimony, says, that he had never
known laurel water to act so rapidly as the other me-
dical  witnesses  described.  He  had injected it into
the veins and into the stomach of animals, but it nev-
er produced so quick an effect.   Who, I  would ask
Dr. Male,  have  subsequent experiments proved to be
right on this point ? Mr. Hunter, or the other witnes-
ses.  Let the facts I have adduced in previous pages
answer this question.
  Again,  Mr. Phillips, and others,  object greatly,
that the whole proof as to its being laurel water, rest-
ed upon  the  comparison of the smell.  Now-I con-
ceive this to be a very satisfactory circumstance.  The
medicine administered by Mr. Powell did not contain
laurel water—while few, very few indeed, of the flu-
ids in common  use,  possess a  smell at  all  resem-
bling that of bitter almonds.  This property is pecu-
liar—confined to a certain  number of vegetable pro-
ducts, several of which, even at that day, were  known
to be deleterious.
   Capt. D. had  a still in his own room—there were
laurels  and bays in the garden, (see  Amos' testimo-
ny.)  This is a  sufficient answer to Mr.  Phillips'
question, where  did the  prisoner procure it P Cer-
lainly, if there was an intention on the part of Cap-
\npendix to his treatise on the law of evidence, p. 
424
V EGETABLL POISONS.
tain Donellan, to use the laurel water for the purpose
of poisoning, we have shown  how he could obtain it.*
   I have made these  few remarks on  this case,  not
for the purpose of asserting positively that Sir The-
odosius Boughton  was poisoned,  but to state a few
circumstances, which teud  to shew that this was  not
an instance of judical murder, for such I apprehend,
it  must be considered by the critics on it.
   "Dr. Male," says Dr. Smith, "states in  so many
words, that it was neither proved that thp deceased
was poisoned, nor that any poison had existed.  Equal-
ly dissatisfied,  perhaps with  the  manner, in which
the professional testimony was given, the evidence of
the eminent individual,  upon  whom  he founds this
opinion, has not led me to draw the same conclusion.^
   The oil  of laurel also acts as a virulent poison, aud
in a similar manner to the distilled  water.  The wa-
tery extract, however,  according  to  Orfila, is very
feeble, and comparatively innoxious  in its operation.
   Amygdalus communis.  (Bitter almonds.)   These,
when pounded and taken in sufficient quantity, prove
highly deleterious, as has been proved by numerous
experimenters.!
   The essential oil  of bitter almonds  acts violently.
One drop applied to the tongue of a cat, instantly  ex-
cited convulsions, .to which loss of motion and insen-
sibility succeeded—the respiration became  hurried,
and death  followed at the end of five  minutes.   So
also when  two drops were injected into the  rectum.
While performing  these experiments,  Mr. Brodie
touched his tongue with a probe that had been dipped
into the oil.   He instantly  experienced  an  uneasy
sensation in the epigastric region, and a weakness of

  * The fact of Caplaih Donellan's having a still, is cautiously omitted in
Mr. Phillips' statement ofthe case. Nor is this a solitary instance of omis-
sion ; and in proof of this, I request any gentleman to compare the abstract
I have given, (and which is taken almost verbatim from the trial) with that
presented by Mr. Phillips. His comments on the medical  testimony, are
evidently founded on imperfect information concerning the subject in dis-
pute,              t Smith's Forensic Medicine, p. 171.
  t Orfila. vol. 2, p. 156. 
VEGETABLE  POISONS.
425
the limbs:   The application of the oil to the cellular
texture, was equally, but not instantaneously, destruc-
tive.*
   Two cases are said to  have occurred at  Montpe-
lier, of children poisoned by the use of bitter almonds.
In one, the person had eaten them after they had been
heated in a copper vessel; and in the other, the child
had been made to drink the milk, as a remedy against
worms, f
   Virey has suggested the sulphate of iron as an an-
tidote of  this substance, in consequeuce of restoring a
cow by it, who was nearly killed by the essential oil. J
   Amygdalus persica.   The kernels of the peach are
very often distilled for the purpose  of impregnating
eau  de noyau, and if too strongly  charged  with the
oil,  it must prove noxious.  The late Duke  Charles
of Lorraine nearly lost his life by swallowing a small
quantity  <of this  liquor,^ aud  fatal cases  are said to
have lately occured in England from the same cause.||
   Lactuca   virosa.   (Strong-scented  lettuce.)   The
extract of  this plant in large  doses, produces effects
similar to those of opium, but a longer  period is re-
quired to develope them.   It acts with more rapidity
when  applied to the cellular texture, or injected into
the veins.
   Solanum  dulcamara.   (Woody  nightshade.)  A
native of the United States.   It  has  been supposed
that this, and other species ofthe same genus, (Sola-
num nigrum, villosum, fuscatum, &c.) were poison-
ous, but  the experiments of  Duual and Orfila evi-

  * Brodie's  Experiments on Vegetable Poisons, from the Phil. Trans,  in
Eclectic Repertory, vol.2, p. 27:2, 279.
  t London  Med. and Phys. Journal, vol. 11, p. 92.
  X London  Med. Repository,  vol. 8, p. 178.  Vogel and Robiquet have
lately examined the nature ofthe volatile oil of bitter almonds with con-
siderable minuteness.  When exposed to the air for a few minutes, it be-
comes a crystalline mass, and loses its odour. The volatile part proved
excessively poisonous, while the crystallizable matter was found by Robiquet
to be  quite inert. Brande's Journal, vol.  13, p. 404, and vol. 15, p. 15^.
• ogel's analysis of bitter almonds is given in Annals, vol. 11, p. 426.
  § London  Med. Repository, vol. 4, p. 15.
  || An oil is  also obtained by distilling the leaves. See BrugnatelU's Ex*
periments, in Annah, vol. 7, p. 325.
    vol. ir.                54 
426            VEGETABLE  POISONS.
 dently prove that they possess very moderate narcotic
 powers.*
   Taxus baccata.   (The yew.)   Great diversity of
 opinion has existed concerning the properties of this
 plant.   Orfila, however, deems it a narcotic.
   Dr. Percival relates, that the fresh leaves were  ad-
 ministered to three children,  of five,  four, and  three
 years of age, near Manchester, for worms.  Yawning
 and listlessness soon succeeded, and the oldest vomit-
 ed a little, and complained of pain in  the abdomen ;
 but  the others expressed no  sign of pain.   They all
 died within a few  hours of each other.f
   Acteea spicata.  (Herb  Christopher. Bane-berries.)
 A native of the United  States.   The berries of this
plant  are  noxiois, according to  the  testimony  of
Linnseus, Colden, and Le Monnier.   It is  poisonous
 to cattle, hut sheep and goats eat it.
   Physalis somnifera, Azalea pontica, and Peganum
 harmela, are deemed narcotics.
   Ervum ervilia.    (Lentil.)   Food  into  which the
seed of this plant enters,  is said to produce weakness
and  paralysis of the lower extremities.
   The seeds  of  the Luthyrus cicera,  have similar
properties. £
   Paris quadrifolia. (Herb  Paris,) occasions vomit-
ings and  spasms.    The  root of paris polyphylla  is
also said to he highly poisonous.||
   I  venture to  add to these the following :
   Gelseminum nitidum of Michaux.   (Yellow jessa-
mine.)   The flowers, root, &c. of this shrub are nar-
cotic,  and the effluvia from  the former are said some-

  * Orfila, vol. 2, p. 164.   Desfosses has, however, lately announced the
presence of a narcotic principle  in the Solanum nigrum, and which he
styles Solanine.  It produces great somnolency, the evacuation of much
glairy and mucous matter from the inlestines, and sickness at the stomach.
Chapman's Journal, vol. 4, p. 216, and vol. 5, p. i>6.
  f Med. Commentaries, vol. 6, p. 33.  It is also mentioned, -that a drove of
catlle  (twelve in number) were poisoned in December, 1814. in Montgom-
eryshire, (Wales,) from eating the branches of this tree. Edinburgh An-
nual Register, vol. 7, p. 162. Two cases of death from its leaves and ber-
ries, are mentioned by Metzger, p. 397.
  X Orfila, vol. 2, p. 166.
  {| Edin. Phil. Journal, vol. 1, p. 380. 
VEGETABLE  POISONS.            427
times to induce stupor.*  In the newspapers of May,
1823,  it is mentioned, that  a child  of Mr. James
Broughton, of N.  Carolina aged two years, died in
the space of half an hour, after eating the flowers of
this  plant.  Blindness ensued within  a minute  or
two after swallowing them.
  The general treatment recommended  in  cases  of
poisoning with opium,  is proper  in all  cases which
we have not particularly noticed.

           3. Narcotico-acrid  poisons.

  This title is evidently an incorrect one,  since some
of the  substances belonging to the class, do not excite
any rubefaction  on the texture  to  which  they  are
applied, while the narcotic  nature of  others is ex-
tremely doubtful.   We adopt it however, for reasons
already assigned.
  Atropa  belladonna.   (Deadly night shade.)   The
berries of  this plant are highly noxious.  A detach-
ment  of several hundred French  soldiers, having
halted at a short distance from Pirna, near Dresden,
were allured hy the inviting appearances of the ber-
ries of the atropa,  which grew in abundance in the
neighbourhood. They accordingly eat freely of them,
and one hundred and  eighty men were thus poisoned,
many  of whom died  before  professional assistance
could be rendered, and the rest were  long in recover-
in«-    The  following  were the symptoms as related
by M. Gaultier de Claubry, the medical officer in at-
tendance.   Dilatation and immobility ofthe pupils—
to'al insensibility ofthe eye to the presence of exter-
nal objects, or verv confused  and indistinct vision—
the  conjunctiva turged with purple coloured blood—
prominence ofthe eye, which in some, appeared dull
and heavy, in others,  bright and furious—great dry-
ness of the lips, t.mgue,  palate and  throat—degluti-
tion difficult,  in some  cases  nearly impossible—nau-
sea, not followed  by vomiting—sense of weakness,

    Elliot's Botany of South Carolina and Georgia, vol. 1, p. 312. 
428             VEGETABLE POISONS.
lypothymia, syncope—inability  to  stand  upright—

bending  forward of the trunk of the body—continual

movement of the hands and fingers—lively delirium,

accompanied with a silly laugh—aphonia or inarticu-

late sounds  uttered  with difficulty—ineffectual incli-

nation to  intestiual  evacuation—very gradual return

to health and reason,  without any recollection ofthe

preceding state.*
   Several cases are also recorded by Orfila and other

authors,  where death  followed from eating  the ber-

ries, but the above is sufficient to illustrate the ordi-

nary effects.  In  one  instance where death ensued,

the stomach was found ulcerated.f

   It appears from  a case related by Ray, that  even

the external application of the fresh leaf to  the broken

skin, is not unattended with danger.^  The dilatation

of the pupil of the eye from  the application of this

substance, is well known,  and has been extensively

applied in modern surgeryr.
   The watery  extract of belladonna, when adminis-

tered to animals, produced vomiting, dilatation of the

pupils,  delirium,  and in general, the same course of

symptoms  as in man.   The stomach  was  sometimes

ulcerated  or red, and  at  other  times  sound.  The

lungs aud  heart occasionally livid.(|


  * Orfila, vol. 2, p. 201. New-England Journal, vol. 4, p. 92.
  t Oriila, vol. 2, p. 201.  Fodere, vol. 4, p. 39.  Sage saw fourteen children
who had eaten of the berries.  They  could not swallow,  and the  pupils
were  immovable. They became drunk and furious, leaping and running.
The one who had taken most, suffered under spasmodic twitcblngs, and
discharged blood by the nose  and anus, and vomited bloody and purulent
matter. On recovering the power  of deglutition, it was  found that the
whole roof of his mouth, his tonsils,  and part of his tongue, were covered
with aphthae. They all survived, but on going to school four days there-
after, some saw reef,  others not at all, and none were  able to articulate a
sound. Of this they gradually recovered.  Edin. Med. and Surg. Journal,
vol. 9, p. 380.
   X London Med. and Phys. Journal, vol. 12, p. 134.
  || A vegetable alkali has been discovered in this plant by  Brnndcs, which
he terms Alropia. The vapour of it was  so injurious, producing violent
headache, pain in tl e back, giddiness and nausea, that he  was  obliged to
discontinue his experiments.  On tasting a small quantity ofthe sulphate of
atropia, violent headache, shaking of the limbs, oppression and ditficult cir-
culation were induced, and M- Brandes found even the vapour ofthe dif-
ferent salts to produce giddiness.  Annals of  Philosophy,  new series, vol
 1, p. 270.  There are also experiments of Vauquelin on that  part of the
juice of belladonna which is soluble in alcohol, quoted in  the London
 Med. and Phys. Journal, vol. 28, p. 209, from the Annales de Chimie 
VEGETABLE  POISONS.            429
  Datura  stramonium.   (Thorn-apple. Jamestown
weed.)   Its native country doubtful,  but naturalized
in every part ofthe United States. (Bigelow.)  This
plant has extended itself rapidly over various parts of
our country,  and is certainly one  of the most  offen-
sive.*  There are numerous cases on  record of the
poisonous effects of the leaves and seeds of it.
  Dr. Barton states, that in 1765, when some of the
British  troops under Sir John St. Clair were station-
ed  in the vicinity of  Elizabethtown, (New-Jersey,)
three of the soldiers collected a quantity of the plant,
(which  they mistook for lamb's-quarters,  Chenopo-
dium album,J and dressed and ate it.  One of them
became furious, and ran about like a madman.  The
second, was seized with genuine tetanus, and died.f
   Dr. Rush saw a child between three and four years
old, who had swallowed some of the seeds. A violent
fever, delirium, tremors in the limbs,  and a general
eruption on the skin, were present, accompanied with
considerable  swelling,  itching,  and  inflammation.
Repeated emetics and purgatives, however, alleviated
the  disease, and brought  away  some of the seeds.
Dilatation of the pupils and blindness still remained,
but were obviated by  a continuance  of the previous
remedies, and she recovered her health.t
   In the Transactions ofthe College of Physicians of
Philadelphia, Dr.  Moses Bartram  relates,  that he
was called to a  child  suddenly seized with idiocy,
without fever.   The pulse was natural—tongue clear,
and no internal function disturbed, except those of the
brain   The child appeared  very  happy—talking,
 laughing,  and in constant motion,  yet so weak that it
 could not  stand  or walk without tottering.   He  ex-



 tJ   ZvtaS-from the leaves, stem and flowers, are supposed to have
 rhe effll v!a»"s;he dSse."  Barton's Med- and Phys. Journal, vol. 1, p.
 fie" S^i. evWently ta^ng too much on the plant, but its effluvia is ce,
 'TfcrtoS Med. and Phys. Journal vol. 1■  p. U*.
  X Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc.ety, vol. 1, p. 3b 1. 
430             VEGETABLE  POISONS.
 hibited an emetic,  and the seeds  of the thorn-apple
 were rejected, after which the child recovered.*
   Orfila enumerates  the following list of  symptoms
 as produced by this plant: " Intoxication, delirium,
 loss of sense, drowsiness,  a  sort of  madness and fury
 —loss of memory, sometimes transitory,  and some-
 times permanent—convulsions, paralysis ofthe limbs,
 cold  sweats, and excessive thirst and tremblings."
   The stramonium was some  years since  usetl  to  a
 considerable extent in asthma, and there is reason  to
 believe that in  some cases  it proved deleterious.f
   The stomach of animals poisoned with the  watery
 extract, by introduction into  that organ,  was found
 inflamed,  and  blood  was extravasated between the
 mucous coat and the one subjacent to it.   The lungs
 were  of a deep red,   and distended with  black  and
 fluid  blood.j;
   The Datura metel,ferox and tatula, are equally
 poisonous.   The seeds of  the D. rnetel are used in
 Asia for their soporific and intoxicating qualities, and
 are made  the instrument of unbounded libertinism.||
   JVicotiana tabacum.  (Tobacco.)  It is not necessary
 to multiply cases  proving the poisonous nature of this
 substance  when taken  internally.  The death of San-
 teuil,  a French poet, was  caused by an inconsiderate

  * Other cases are related by Dr. Fowler, (Med Commentaries, vol. G, p.
 161.) Here the face, eyes, and abdomen were swelled.  The other symp-
toms were, however, similar to  those mentioned in the text.  By Dr. Tho-
mas Young, (Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol  15, p.  154.)  By M.
 Sarlandicre, (Journal Foreign  Science, vol. 1, p. 463.)  By Dr. Brown
(New-York Med. Repository,  vol. 5, p. 36.)  A scarlet efflorescence was
here present, and the pupils were dilated.  Two cases by Dr. De Wilt, (N»id.
vol 2,  p. 27.)   In one instance the poison produced pain, and during re-
covery, there were numerous vesications on the skin.—And also by Orfila,
from various authors.  A remarkable case by Orfila himself, is j^iven in the
London Med.  Repository, vol.  13, p. 2.39, where it produced most of the
symptoms of poisoning, but finally was the means of curing an intense and
long-continued headache.  A very interesting historical account of this
plant by Mr Royston,is contained in the London Med. and Phys Journal
vol. 25 and 26.                                            '
  t See on this point Dr. Biee's Letter on Stramonium, New-England Jour-
nal, vol. 1, p. 411.
  + Brandes has also discovered an alkaline principle in this  plant,  styled
Datura.  Brandes' Journal, vol. 11, p 204.
  || Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 7, p. 97. See also Royston's pa-
per already quoted. 
VEGETABLE P0TS0NS.
431
person emptying the contents of a snuff-box into his
wine, which as soon as he had swallowed, excited
violent  vomiting and excessive pain, and  he died in
fourteen hours.*   So also when the infusion, or the
smoke is  administered in large  quantities, as by a
glyster ;  convulsions,  sickness, and vomiting  super-
vene, and death often is the result.f
  Externally, the effects are no less striking.  A man
and his wife fomented  their bodies  with a watery in-
fusion of tobacco, in order to remove the itch. Giddi-
ness, headach, retching and vomiting, with diarrhoea
soon supervened.   Thirst accompanied these, as also
spasms, and the debility and oppression  were great.
They were however gradually relieved by judicious
treatment.^   A linament, prepared  with the powder
of tobacco and butter, applied to  the heads of chil-
dren, labouring under tinea, caused vertigoes, violent
vomitings and faintings,  extreme perspiration and a
staggering walk.§
   Several experimenters have examined the effects of
tobacco  on animals.   Fontana found that  the  inser-
tion of the oil into wounds,  induced temporary para-
lysis, but not death.||   Brodie used both the infusion
and the oil.   The former, when injected into the rec-
tum of an animal, produced faintness,  and  early in-
sensibility and death.   It stopped the circulation of
the heart, and caused syncope.  The latter excited
violent convulsions, frequent respiration, and  death,
occasioning this termination by destroying the func-
tions of the  brain.«U                  „,     .    .
   The experiments of Orfila with snuff, produced re-
sults generally similar to those we have now related,

  J S^nie^X S pomt, in the Edin. Med. and Surg^ Journal
vol 9 D  59  A case where the poking of tobacco produced most of
the Xmotoms of apoplexy, as stertor, insensibility ofthe pupil, deep l.yid
c",nLTauc™ a„d IpLiodic contraction, is given in the same work,  vol.
 12> P- U         •    I 11 ~ Q77
  X Med. Commentaries, vol. 11, p. 6Z1.
  | S'co°uin;enPtaHe4S, vol. 12. p. 110.  Phil. Trans, vol. 70,p.  163.
  II Eclectic Repertory, vol. 2, p. 274. 
 132            VEGETABLE POISONS.

 and they also show, that the  extract of the nicotiana
 rustica acts in the same manner as tobacco, but is les*
active.*
  Digitalis  purpurea.    (Purple  foxglove.)    Or.
 William Henry was called in October, 1809, to visit
a female, an out patient of the Manchester Infirmary,
and labouring under dropsy, who had taken an over-
dose of the decoction of foxglove.   It  was prepared
by  boiling two handfuls of the  leaves in a quart of
water, and then pressing the mass, so as to expel the
whole of the liquor.   Of this at 7 A.  M. she drank
two teacups full,  amounting in the whole,  to uot less
than ten ounce measures.  Before eight, she began to
be sick and vomited parts of the contents of her stom-
ach.   Enough, however, was retained to excite vio-
lent vomiting  and  retching throughout the whole of
that and the following day, during which, every thing
that was taken, was instantly rejected.   In the inter-
vals of sickness,  she was  excessively faint, and her
skin was  covered with a cold sweat.   The tongue
and lips swelled, and there was a constant flow of
viscid saliva from the mouth.   Very little  urine was
voided  on  the day  she took the digitalis,  and on the
two following days the action ofthe kidnies was en-
tirely suspended.   When Dr. Henry saw her, which
was forty-eight hours after she had taken the poison,
the tongue  was white, the ptyalism continued, though
in a less degree, aud the  breath was foetid.  The
pulse was low, irregular (not exceeding  forty,) and
after every third  or fourth pulsation, an intermission
occurred for some seconds.  She complained also of
general pains in the limbs, and  cramps in the legs.
By the use of effervescing draughts, aud aether with
ammonia,  she gradually recovered  her imperfect
health.  Dr. Henry remarks, that she  had not taken

  * Vauquelin has analysed a variety of tobacco, the N. latifolia, and found
it to consist of an acrid principle, on which its properties depend-  Albu-
men, supermalate of lime, ace'ic aciv, nitrate and muriate of potash, muri-
ate of ammonia, and a red mattr;-, solvible in alkohol and in water, which
a wells and is charred by heat. Edinburgh Med.  and Surg. Jour. vol. 6, p. 379 
VEGETABLE POISONS.
433
any mercury,  and that the ptyalism was entirely the
effect ofthe digitalis.*
  A man labouring under asthma,  imprudently took
an ounce ofthe tincture of digitalis.  He immediate-
lv  fell asleep,  and  slept for three hours and a half.
After this,  on awakening, he vomited,  and likewise
had a  motion.   He then again slept quietly.   A
stroug emetic  was now  given,  which  operated well,
and he continued trauquil and his pulse regular.  Af-
ter  two or three hours,  however,  his pulse began to
intermit.   Strong punch  was given in  divided doses,
and also carbonate of ammonia.   This supported  the
system, though the pulse was at one period as low as
thirty-six in a minute.   The intermission lasted  for
about twelve hours, and the  asthma was cured.-f
  When administered to animals in the form of pow-
der, or extract, or infusion  of  the leaves,  it excites
anxiety, melancholy, snaallness and slowness of pulse,
involuntary stools, and convulsions—death closes  the
train of symptoms.
  Conium  maculatum.   (Hemlock.)   Raving mad-
ness and epileptic fits  occurred to Mr.  Ray,  in  the
case of a woman  who had eaten  the roots  of this
plant.J  Vertigo, convulsions,  coma and death were
the result to two soldiers at Waltham Abbey, in Es-
sex, who had boiled it with their bacon for dinner. ||
  Some soldiers partook of broth into which hemlock
had been put.   All of them  were shortly after  seized
with pains  in  the head  and  throat, and felt as if
drunk ;  but the one  who had eaten the most, had lain
down and gone to sleep.   When first noticed, he was

  * Edin. Med. and Surg. Journal, vol.  7, p. 148. This symptom has been
noticed by other practitioners.   Dr. Barton mentions having seen it pro-
duced in a child from ordinary doses  Barton's Med. and Phys. Journal.
vol 1 parti, p. 80. Another case is related in Ibid. vol. 1, part 2, p. 48. Dr.
Barton quotes the following remark from Dr. Withering.  « I am doubtful
whether it does not sometimes excite a  copious How of saliva."
  t Case by Dr Fo°-o in  Edin. Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 18, p. 34u.
See also a case quoted from Dr. Beddoes in Orfila, Vol. 2, p. 228. Some
useful cautions as to the use of digitalis are given in.the Medico-Chirurg
Rev. vol. 1, p, 510, Amer. Edit.
  i Phil. Transactions, vol. 19, p. 634.
  || Ibid. vol. 43, p. IS. Case by Dr. Watson
    VOL. II.               55 
134            VEGETABLE POISONS.
insensible,  respiring with sjeat difficulty—his pulse
small and slow,  even to thirty pulsations in the mi-
nute ; the extremities were cold, and the face bluish,
aud distended with  blood.   An emetic  was  given
without  effect.   He  complained of  being cold, but
shortly after, lost again the use of speech and sense,
and died in three hours after taking the poison.   On
dissection, there  were some red spots  seen round the
pylorus ;  the intestines were healthy, but all  the ves-
sels of  the brain were gorged  with blood,  and  on
opening the cranium, there flowed out blood sufficient
to fill twice an ordinary chamber-pot.*
•   Convulsions, furious delirium, and swellings ofthe
face, appear thus to be among the leading symptoms
from the use of this poison.
   The juice, and the extract when properly prepared,
produce similar effects on animals.  Orfila has, how-
ever, shown that  the extract usually sold in the shops
is inefficient and  weak.f
   Cicuta virosa, or  aquatica.   (Water  hemlock.)
This is a more violent poison than the preceding.
   The following train of symptoms  has been noticed
—dazzling—obscurity of the sight—vertigo—head-
ach, often acute and excruciating—a vacillating walk
—anxiety of the  praecordia—cardialgia-^-dryness of
the  throati-'-ardent  thirst—eructatio—vomiting  of
greenish matter'—frequent and interrupted  respiration
—tetanic contractions of the jaws, sometimes follow-
ed by lethargy, with coldness of the extremites ; at
other times with  a furious  delirium, or attacks resem-
bling epilepsy.   In one or two cases,  a swelling of
the face has been noticed.  In  a case  where death
followed, hiccup and fruitless  efforts  to vomit were
present, with tetanic convulsions. The abdomen and
face swelled after death, and there flowed a quantity
of green froth  from the mouth.J

  * Case by M. Haaf, quoted by Orfila, vol. 2, p. 242.
  f A drachm of the extract prepared by himself was sufficient to poison a
dog, whereas an ounce, and even ten drachms from several of the shops
in Paris, produced no effect whatever.  Quart. Jour. For. Med. and Sure.
vol. 1, p. 104.
  X Orfila, vol.2, p. 248 
VEGETABLE POISONS.
435
  The experiments of Wepfer prove how deadly this
plant is to auimals, and Linnaius, in his Tour to
Lapland, has illustrated  it in an impressive manner.
At Tornea, hundreds of cattle were annually destroy-
ed in the spring, without any assignable cause.  The
poison  was said to be of so pestilential a nature, that
though the animals were flayed before they were cold,
yet whereveratheir blood came in contact with the hu
man  body, it  caused  gangrenous spots and sores.
Some indeed had lost their lives  in  this way.   On
examining  the  meadow  into which they were first
turned out to grass, he found in it a bog or marsh, in
which the Cicuta aquatica grew in great abundance,
and had evidently been  plentifully cropped  by th©
cattle in feeding.*
   Cicuta maculata.  (Snake-weed. Amer. hemlock.)
A native of this country.  We have, unfortunately,
several cases on record of death produced by the root
of this plant,f and fro.u an examination of these,  the
following  appear as the effects  :—Vomiting—pain in
the  bowels—tenesmus, and  occasionally purging—
convulsions—dilatation of the pupils—feeble pulse,
and frothing at  the mouth and nose, mixed with blood.
 When not convulsed, the patients lay in a deep sleep ;
 the  countenance is  pale, and the extremities are cold.
 Several observers have  noticed an astonishing mobi-
 lity of the eyeballs and eyelashes, although the pupi s
 are firmly and  widely  dilated.   Death follows rapid-
 ly,  and particularly in children—in two cases, within
 an hour after eating it,





 Dutchess county, in  this state.  New-England Journri, vol  , p  ^
 by Dr. Hazeltine, of Massachusetts Ib.d. voL 3, p. *J£ oy     Har
 Dr. Muhlenberg •*•£«» ^^{^^f angeUca.  Med. Repository ut 
436
VEGETABLE  POISONS.
   One dissection  has  been made by Dr. Hazeltine.
The limbs were  more flexible  than  is  usual.  The
stomach  was inflated and contained about three gills
of a mucous, greenish fluid,  on  the surface of which
was seen a part of the masticated root.  There were
no appearances of inflammation.
   Brucea antidysenterica  (False angustura bark.)
This substance resembles the real angustura, and this
fact indeed was noticed, shortly after the discovery of
the plant  by Mr. Bruce :* but  it was not until a few
years since, that its deleterious nature was discovered.
A patient under the care of Dr. Rambach, at Ham-
burgh, experienced poisonous effects  from the use of
a decoction ;  and death also resulted from it iu Hun-
gary and Berne.   This led to an examination, and it
was ascertained that two species are known in com-
merce-—the  genuine, called West Indian, and  the
spurious  East Indian  angustura, (brucea.)  Several
experiments on animals confirmed its poisonous na-
ture.  The  Austrian government was so impressed
with the  danger to be  apprehended, that it ordered
all the angustura bark iu the empire, genuine and spu-
rious, to be burnt, and  interdicted its future importa-
tion.  Its sale was also prohibited in Denmark ; and
in Russia  and Wirtemberg, the characters distin-
guishing  each were published by authority.!   Some
of these may be briefly enumerated.
  The taste of the genuine is aromatic bitter, that of
the spurious, highly and disgustingly bitter. The con-
centrated infusion of the  first is clear and reddish-
brown, and when diluted becomes yellow.  If an al-
kali be added,  it is changed to a dark-red, aud a so-
lution of persulphate or permuriate of iron, imparts to
it a high  red colour, and after some time throws down
a rose-coloured percipitate.  The infusion ofthe last
is not so clear, of a dirty brown  colour, and when di-
luted does not become yellow.   On  the addition of
* See Med. Commentaries, vol. 16, p. 184.
+ Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 13, p. 211 
VEGETABLE  POISONS.
437
an alkali, it becomes greenish, and a solution of sul-
phate of iron gives it a dark green colour, and throws
down a copious satin black precipitate.*
  Animals are readily destroyed by this substance,
and the symptoms are violent convulsions, resembling
tetanus and which occur in paroxysms.   The animal
expires in one of these.   On dissection, no inflamma-'
tion  is found.f   Professor Emmert,  of Tubingen,
communicated the following case to Orfila : " A child
died  after having taken by mistake, a  decoction of
this bark ; he preserved  the use of his intellectual fa-
culties, and earnestly  begged  that he  might not  be
touched, for he experienced terrible cramps after each
time that he was handled.  He had a copious perspi-
ration, hut did not vomit."J
   Laurus camphora.  Camphor when introduced in-
to the stomach of dogs, produced general convulsions,
loss of hearing, foaming at  the  mouth, and difficult
breathing.   Vomiting ensued and they recovered.
But when the cesophagus was tied, the consequence
wa»  death, and the stomach  presented an inflamma-
tory  appearance, and in one case, ulceration.
   Although no case is  recorded of death from cam-
phor, in the human subject, yet  the symptoms that
large doses produce, are in general  similar to those
above stated.   Cold sweats, faintness,  delirium and
 feeble pulse, are the usual attendants.$
   Cocculus indicus.   The fruit of the Menispermum
 cocculus,* native  of  Malabar and  Ceylon. ||  It is

  * For a further list of its distinguishing characters, see Orfila, vol. 2, p.
 9R0 and Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. is, p- f1U-   , _
  t See a paper «gn this poison, by Emmert, in the London Med. Reposi-



 Ell xzsris&^&&& tB

 vol. 3, p. 303.
   J ri^de^d'afa^ali in this, which^called^rotox^ or
• pLtoxa. yit is highly poisonous. See Ann^s vol. 2, P& 468,
 p. 70. London Med. Rep. vol. 11, p- 617, and vol. 13, p. 70. 
438
VEGETABLE  POISONS.
used in India,  for the purpose  of intoxicating, and
thus killing fish, and this is done  by throwing  the
berries on the surface of the water.  Ooupil, a physi-
cian of Nemours, ascertained  that it destroyed fish
not only, but also carnivorous quadrupeds, and Orfila
has proved the same on dogs.   It acts,  he observes,
on the brain,  and produces  convulsions.*   Goupil,
however deems it an acrid poison.

              POISONOUS  MUSHROOMS.

  The number and variety of these are so great, that
it  will unnecessarily enlarge our pages, to copy  the
botanical description of each.  I will therefore only
state a few characters which should lead us to doubt
concerning their qualities, and for further particulars,
refer to systematic writers on  this subject.
  The following indications should excite a suspicion
of mushrooms : A marshy situation in  the shade—the
substance soft, porous and moist—an ugly appearance,
and the surface more or less dirty—a glairy coat cov-
ering the surface—a virulent smell—a bright colour,
or a combination of different colours. We should also
regard as  dangerous,  all which have bulbous  or soft
stems, or have fragments of skin glued to their surface, f
  The symptoms which generally arise from eating
poisonous mushrooms, are thus given in a report to the
Society of Medicine of Bourdeaux,  and  which  is
quoted by Orfila with high approbation.   " Pains  of
the stomach, gripes, nausea, evacuations upwards and
downwards, are  the first  symptoms with which the
patients are  attacked.   Shortly after,  heat  of the
bowels  and faintings ; the pains become more con-
tinued and violent; cramps, convulsions, sometimes
general, sometimes partial, and  unquenchable thirst
succeed; the pulse is small,  hard,  tight, and very
frequent.  When the symptoms, after having lasted
a certain time, do not diminish in consequence of the

 * Orfila, vol. 2, 305 to 311.        t Ibid. vol. 2, p. 335. 
VEGETABLE POISONS.
439
relief afforded, vertigo, a stupid delirium, and drow-
siness affect some subjects, and are only interrupted
by the pains and convulsions.  In others there is no
drowsiness ; the pains and  convulsions exhaust the
strength; faintings  and cold  sweats  come on,  and
death puts a period to this series of sufferings,  after
having been foreseen and announced  by the  patient
himself, who has not lost his senses for a single mo-
ment."*
   Poisonous mushrooms do not manifest their action
generally until six or eight hours after they are eaten,
and even twelve or sixteen sometimes  elapse.
   The appearances on dissection are as  follows :—
 "Violet-coloured spots over the integuments,  very
 extensive and numerous ;  the  abdomen extremely
 bulky ; the conjunctiva as it were injected ; the pupil
 contracted ; the stomach and intestines  inflamed, and
 scattered over with gangrenous  s^ots—sphacelus is
 present in some portions of this viscus, and the sto-
 mach and  intestines are  contracted,  so much  so in-
 deed, that in these latter the thickened membranes
 have  obliterated the canal.   The  cesophagus in one
 subject was inflamed and gangrenous ; and m another
 there was an intus-susceptio of the ileon from above
 downwards, for the space of three inches.  One indi-
 vidual alone  had the intestines distended with excre-
 mentitious matter.   In none have any remains of the
 mushroom been found;  they had been  either conv
 nletely digested, or evacuated.   The lungs  were  in-
 flamed and  distended with black blood; the same
 con-estion had taken place in almost all the veins of
 the abdominal viscera, in  the  liver, spleen and me-
 sentery.   Inflammatory  and gangrenous spots occur
 on the membranes of the brain, in its ventricles—on
 the pleura, lungs, diaphragm,  mesentery, bladder,
  uterus,  and even  on the foetus of  a pregnant woman.
 The  blood  in this subject was  extremely  fluid; hi
 other persons  it  was almost coagulated.   Extreme
« Orfila, vol. 2, p. 334 
440
VEGETABLE  POISONS.
 flexibility of the limbs  was  not a  constant appear-
 ance/'4

                      ALCOHOL.

   On the effects of this poison, when taken  as it or-
 dinarily  is by persons in habits of intoxication, it  is
 not necessary for me to enlarge.   I have only to refer
 to the effects of  it in a pure state and  in large  doses,
 and then by  comparing  these results  with  the table
 published by Mr. Brande, ofthe quantity  of alcohol
 contained in  various  kinds of  liquors, an idea may
 be formed ofthe injury,  and indeed danger, to which
 life is so freely and generally exposed.f
   Mr. Brodie injected proof-spirits  into the stomach
 of a rabbit.   In five minutes, he lay motionless and
 insensible ; the pupils of the eyres were dilated ; there
 were  slight  convulsive  motions  of  the extremities ;
 the respiration was laborious, and he finally died at
 the end of an hour and fifteen minutes.  In  his fur-
 ther  experiments, he  found  the stomach  highly in-
 flamed by the injection of this poison, but  never ob-
 served any preternatural  appearances in  the brain.
 The  symptoms, however, produced by spirits,  are
 very analogous, he observes, to  those  caused  by in-
juries of the brain.J
  The degree of  danger from intoxication,  says an
 experienced  observer,  may be best estimated by the
 irritability of the iris.  If the iris retain its  contractile
 power, the  patient  will generally recover,  however
 overpowered his senses may be; but if it remain in  a
 state of extreme  dilatation when a strong light  is di-
 rected upon it, a feeble hope of recovery can  only be

  * Orfila, vol. 2, p. 334.  Cases of poisoning by mushrooms may be found
 in this author, vol. 2, p. 313 to 333.  Fodere, vol. 4, p. 62 to 70.  Stalpart,
 vol. 1, p. 162.  Trans. Coll. Phys. London, vol. 2, p. 216, case  by Dr. He-
 berden.  London  Med. and Phys. Journal, vol. 12,  p. 385,  case by Dr
 Bardsley.
  t See Mr. Brande's Tables in his Journal, vol. 5, p.  152.  Rum contain.*
53.68 per cent of alcohol, brandy 53.39, gin 51.60, cider only 9.87 per cent,
ale 8.88, Madeira wine from  16 to 18, Port wine from 19 to  25  per cent,
  X Eclectic Repertory, vol 2, p. 269. 
VEGETABLE POISONS.
441
entertained.   This paralysis of the  iris is generally
accompanied with  apoplectic  stertor,  laboured  and
imperfect  respiration, and  a slow oppressed  pulse.
Next to the insensibility of the iris, want of energy in
the stomach indicates the greatest danger.*
   Sulphuric aether, introduced into the stomach when
the cesophagus was tied, produced vertigo, great weak-
ness, difficult breathing, drowsiness and death.  The
mucous membrane of the stomach was highly inflam-
ed, as was also the duodenum ; the blood in the heart
was black, partly fluid and partly coagulated, f
   Sectde cornutum. (Ergot, spurred rye.) This sub-
stance either alone, or contaminating rye, has long been
deemed a poison.  It is stated to have  given rise to
epidemic diseases at various times, in France, Silesia,
Prussia, Bohemia, Saxony and Sweden.   Perrault
mentions, that in travelling through Sologne in France,
he was informed by some physicians and surgeons of
that country, that the rye there was sometimes so cor-
rupted, that those who ate bread made of it, were seiz-
ed with a gangrene, some in one part and some in an-
other, some  losing a finger,  others a hand or the nose,
and that this gangrene was not preceded by any fever,
inflammation or considerable pain,  but that  the parts
fell off of themselves.    The  early  symptoms were
numbness, cold and livid skin, pain and swelling.^
   Tissot, in a paper in the Philosophical Transac-
tions, presents a very copious account of the disease
in question, and divides it into two forms—the spas-
modic  and gangrenous.   He observes  that the first

   * Bedingfield in Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 12  p. 493.  See
on the symptoms from intoxication, a curious paper from the French, in
J\ew-F.ngland Journal, vol 8, p. 389.
   t Orfila vol o p 342.  Dr. Godraan has lalely announced  a curious re-
 sult from'the inspiration of the vapour of sulphuric aether. It produces all
 the effects of nitrous oxide.  Its exliilerating effects were striking, but m
 one individual, a female, predisposed to consumption, the muscular action
 induced, left a cough, derangement of mind and pain.  She had several at-
tacks of violent syncope and remained ill for some time. Godman s West-
 em Renorter, vol. 2, p. 111.
   X Phil. Trans, vol. 11, p. 758. See also vol. 52, p. 529, where cases are re-
 lated that occurred at Orleans and Blois.
     VOL. II                 56 
442             VEGETABLE POISONS.
accurate account of it was published, in 1596.   The
spasmodic disease prevailed, according  to Hoffman,
in 1648,  1649, and 1675,  iu Voigtland—in 1702 in
Friburg,—in 1716 in  Saxony  and  Lusatia,  and in
1722 in Silesia.   It was frequently attended with ep-
ilepsy.   The gangrenous form, was known in France
as early as 1630, and in 1650, 1670 and 1674, it ra-
ged in Aquitaine and  Sologne.   In 1709 it appeared
in Switzerland.   The symptoms were similar to those
already noticed.   It attacked persons of both  sexes
and all ages, and in some instances, only the lower ex-
tremities  became gangrenous, while in others, both
upper and lower were affected.*
  Mr. Srine has described its effects as occurring in
1736 in Bohemia.  It  commenced with an  uneasy,
stinging  sensation about  the feet.   To this, severe
cardialgia succeeded,  and the hands and head were
soon  after affected.   The fingers were strongly con-
tracted, and there was a sensation of burning in the
hands and  feet.   Giddiness, mania or coma, suc-
ceeded, accompanied with opisthotonos, and a foaming
at the mouth.  These symptoms were followed by a
canine appetite.   All those who had epileptic symp-
toms, died.  The pulse was  natural, and the spasms
left a stiffness of the limbs.   The disease  continued
two, four, eight,  and sometimes even twelve weeks.
Out of five hundred persons, three children  died.f
Ofangrene^of the  extremities  has also been  observed
in auimals from the administration of ergot.|
  There  is  some diversity of opinion  as to the real
nature of this substance.  Decandolle states that it i*

  * Phil. Trans, vol. 55, p. 106.
  t Orfila, vol. 2, p. 349.  For some important remarks, referring the above
diseases to deficiency of nourishment, rather than to diseased grain, see
Rees' Cyclopedia,  art. Ignis sacer.  I shall consider this subject  more at
length at another time.
  X It has been a subject of some interest and inquiry, whether the spotted
fever which ravaged several districts in the United States some years since,
had its origin in part or altogether from eating this substance, combined
with grain.  The facts adduced are very unsatisfactory, and lead to no
definite conclusion.  Some observations on  this subject are contained in
the New-England Journal, vol. 5, p. 133, p. 156, (an article by Prof. Bigc-
tow,) and p. 235. 
VEGETABLE POISONS.
443
a parasitic plant; a mushroom,  of the genus sclero-
tium.   Others assert  that it is a disease of the rye.
The analysis of Vauquelin  has not led to a decisive
result.*
  Lolium  temulentum.   (Darnel.)  Naturalized iu
the United States.  Bread made  from the farina of
the seed of this plant, and taken to the amount of six
drachms, caused distraction of thought, indistinct vi-
sion, torpor, debility and drowsiness, and these were
followed by efforts to  vomit.   Tremors of the limbs,
great depression, and difficulty of speech and vomit-
ing, succeeded.!   Similar effects were induced in a
family from  eating   oat-bread  mixed with darnel.
The tongue exhibited a  very strong  trembling,  and
Seeger  indeed remarks,  that the trembling  of the
body is one of the most certain signs of poisoning by
this plant. J   Animals, and particularly dogs, are af-
fected  in the same manner as man.  Chickens, how-
ever, eat the seeds with greediness, and without any
bad consequences.||
   Diseased wheat.   When  the farinaceous part  ot
 this plant becomes converted to a black powder, it
 imparts injurious  qualities  to  the bread.   Fodere
 states that he saw,  in  1808,  colics  and diarrhoeas
 which arose from this cause.
   Anas;allis arvensis.  (Meadow  pimpernel.)  JNa-
 turalized  in the United States.   Its extract produces
 in animals, dejection, insensibility and death.  1 he
 mucous membrane of the  stomach and rectum were
 found inflamed, and the lungs livid.
   Aristolochia clematitis. (Common birth wort.)  Vo-
 miting, convulsive motions, weakness ofthe posterior

   • See on this subject, Brnnde's Journal, vol. 2 p. 273, 320; vol. 3 p. 157.
 Eclectfc Repertory3, vol.  7, p 4-29.. SUIiman's Joun.a, vol. 2, p. 45.  In
 this last, Dr/Tully maintains the opinion of ^"do1 ^ result 0f an „.
 r^^r^^^3^ drlchms/^en early in the
 Torfila vol. 2, p. 352.  Another case of the noxious effects of darnel is

   I] Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 1, p. ""• 
144           VEGETABLE POISONS.
 extremities, dejection  and death, were induced by its
 root.  The stomach and rectum somewhat inflamed.
   Mthusa  cynapium.   (Common  fool's parsley.)
 This plant has been the cause of injury, from its be-
 ing mistaken for parsley.  Orfila gives the following
 as distinctive characters :—1.  The leaves of the fo<51\s
 parsley are of a blackish green on  the upper  side,
 and shining.  2.  They have no smell without being
 bruised, but they give out a nauseous smell when rub-
 bed between the fingers.   Parsley, on the contrary,
 presents an agreeable odour.  3. Its  root  is smaller
 than that of parsley, and dies every year in  autumn.
   Its effects are, heat in the throat, pain, cramps in
 the stomach, swelling of the body and difficult respi-
 ration,  drowsiness  and  starting.   Delirium is occa-
 sionally present.   The symptoms are more violent if
 vomiting does not occur.*
   Riviere  examined a body  poisoned by it.   The
 tongue was black ;  a brownish serosity was found in
 the stomach, and the liver was hard, and of a yellow
 colour.
   Ruta graveolens.   (Rue.)   The  distilled water
 and watery extract  in large quantity, caused death in
 animals after a long interval, but its  effects  are not
 powerful.
  JSTerium oleander. (Common oleander. Rose-bay.)
 The extract of this  plant produced in animals, vomit-
 ing, vertigo, weakness of the extremities, convulsions
 and death.  The distilled water and powder are less
 active.  The digestive canal was not affected.
  Morgagni relates the case of a female,  who drank
 some of the juice of this plant.  Vomiting soon  suc-
 ceeded.  Her lips were brown ;  the pulse small and
 weak ; the power of speech was lost, and she lay in-
 sensible.  Death ensued nine hours after taking  the
juice. , On dissection,  the back of the body was uni-
 versally of a violet colour, but the anterior, natural.

  * Orfila, vol. 2, p. 250. Cases by Mr. Stevenson, in London Med. and
 Phys. Journal, vol. 15, p. 425. Dr. Buchhave, in Med. Commentaries, vol
 14, p. 37. 
VEGETABLE POISONS.            445
There was some heat of the body, though  seventeen
hours had  elapsed since death ;  the blood-vessels of
the stomach, intestines and omentum, were  much dis-
tended ; the stomach contained a greenish  fluid,  but
its membranes were sound ;  the  right  lung was  red
and adhering, while the left was completely collapsed.
All the other viscera were natural.*
  Mercurialis perennis.  (Mountain mercury.)  This
plant is hurtful both to man and  animals.   It causes
vomiting, diarrhoea, profound sleep, and convulsions.
Ray  relates the case of a  man, his wife and three
children, who  experienced  deleterious  effects from
eating it, fried with bacon.f
   Chasrophyllum sylvestre.  (Wild  chervil.)   The
root of  this plant  has produced delirium, profound
sleep, numbness and suffocation.
   Sium latifolium.   A  native of the  United States.
This has  also caused violent delirium on eating the
root in August.   Before that, it is not deemed  nox-
ious.
   Coriaria myrtifolia.   Sauvages  states,  that  a la-
bouring man and a child die!d in horrible convulsions,
within half an hour after eating some of the berries of
this plant.J
   I shall add to these a bare catalogue of some foreign
poisons, which are extremely interesting in a physio-
logical point of view, but from their rarity, little  cal-
culated to become the instruments of death in our  own
country.
   Upas tieute, and  Upas antiar.  The first of these
was brought from Java by Leschenault,  and is  said
by hi.n to be the extractive juice of a creeping  plant,
a species of Strychnos.   The  last is the  juice  of a
large tree in Java, denominated by Leschenault, An-
tiaris toxicaria.\\   The  ancient opinion concerning

  * Morgagni, vol 3, p. 3S7.                      .....
  t Lond. Med. and 1'hys. Jour. vol. 15. p. 71. The case of a family poi-
soned by it, (ot whom some died,) is  mentioned in Phil.  Trans, vol. 17,
p. 875.
  X Orfila, vol. 2, p. 354.
  || Upas is probably a common adjunct in the Javanese language to alt
poisonous plants. 
446            VEGETABLE POISONS.
 the deadly influence ofthe bohon-upas, is now gene-
 rally abandoned :  but the  products  in question  are,
 notwithstanding,  virulent poisons.   Numerous expe-
 riments  have been performed  with them on animals,
 by Brodie, Magendie, Dclille, Orfila, and Horsfield.
 The tieute induces tetanus, asphyxia and  death, with
 great rapidity ;  and on dissection, Or. Horsfield found
 the  brain highly inflam "d.   The antiar operates  ra-
 ther more slowly, and according to Mr. Brodie, death
 is caused  by rendering the heart insensible to  the
 stimulus of  the blood,  and stopping its circulation.
 But  on  these  poiuts 1  must  refer to the authorities
 quoted below.*
   Strychnos nux vomica.   A native of Ceylon, the
 coast  of  Coromandel and Malabar.    The seeds are
 what  is commonly called nux  vomica, and this is the
 poisonous ingredient.  Its action is rapid and produ-
 ces death suddenly in man and animals.  A singular
 case is  mentioned by  Dr.  Granville, of a patient at
 the  hospital St. Louis, at Paris, whose right side was
 paralytic, and who took twenty-four pills  of it.   He
 would have suffered  severely, if proper remedies had
 not been instantly administered,  but the convulsions
 which always accompany' this  poison, coutinued, and
 afterwards affected only the diseased part,  so that the
 arm which  before was lifeless, was now strangely and
 constantly agitated.f   This poison has been made
Tlu^subject of experiment by many physiologists.$

  * Quarterly Review, vol. 6, p. 514. Amer. Edit. Annals of Philosophy,
 vol. 9, p. 202 and  2ti>, containing Dr. llorsfield's essays on oopas, or the
 poison tree of Java, extracted from the Batavian Transactions   Horsfield
 writes these poisons thus, anlshar and tshitlik. Orfila, vol. 2, p. 260,  287.
 Eclectic Repertory, vol. 2, p. 2SI, Brodie's experiments from Phil Trans.
 Hosack's Med. and Phil. Register, vol. J, p. 171, containing Delille's dis-
 sertation on the upas  tieute. Annals of Philosophy, vol 4, p. 259.  See
 also Med. Comment, vol.  15, p. 36.
  f London  Med. Repertory, vol. 7, p. 103.  This poison seems to have
 been known in the time of Valentini.  See his Pandects,  vol.  J, p. 622.
 De nuce vomica penes furem deprehensa.
  X See experiments of Magendie and Dclille in Eclectic Repertory, vol.3,
 p. 274, of Somerville, Harlan, Coales, Lawrence and Hubbard, in Chapman's
 Journal, vol. 2, p. 192,  vol. 3, p. 296, vol. 4,  p. 212, and of Segalas, iu iNew
 York Med. and Phys. Journal, vol. 2, p. 139. 
VEGETABLE POISONS.
447
   Strychnos ignatia, or Ignatiaarnara.*  (Beau of St.
Ignatius.)    Its operation is similar to the nux vomi-
ca, and  like it, does not produce  inflammation of the
texture to which it is applied.f
   Ticunas, according to  Le la Condamine, is an ex-
tract obtained from various plants, by  the Indians of
South America.  The experiments of  Fontana  with
it, iudicate that it produces death in animals, either
externally applied or internally given.    The ordina-
ry symptoms are convulsions,  faintings, great debili-
ty, and  less of feeliug.J
   Woorara is a poisou,   with  which the  Indians of
Guiana arm the points of their arrows.   It does not
appear to differ essentially from  the  ticunas.   Mr.
Brodie  has  performed several experiments  with it,"
aud he imagines  it to produce death  by  destroying
the functions of the brain. ||
   Ilippomane mancinella.   (Manchineel tree.)  Dr.
Peysonnel  relates that a soldier, who  was a slave
with the Turks, eat some ofthe  apples of this tree, and
was soon seized with a swelling and pain ofthe abdo-
men.    His lips were ulcerated with the fruit, and a
cold  sweat came over him.   Having taken some  rem-
edy,  (the avellana purgatrix,)  vomiting and  purging
were induced to a violent degree.   He  however grad-
ually recovered.§
   The wood of this tree when green,  will excite in-

  * Pelletier and Cavcntou discovered an  alkali in the nux vomica, and
also in the Bean of St. Ignatius, which is denominated Strychnine.  It is a
most rapid poison. Magendie killed a dog with one eighth of a grain, and
the editor of the Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal states, that he has him-
self seen one die in two minutes after the injection of one sixth of a grain
into the Cavity of the  pleura. Edin.  Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 18, p. 159.
See Annals, vol. 16, p. 28.  Braude's Journal vol. 7, p. 375.
  t The fruit of the plant feuill'ea cordifolia, has lately been announced by
Drapiez as an antidote against vegetable  poisons.  He poisoned dogs
with the rhus toxicodendron, hemlock and  nux vomica, and recovered
them with this fruit.  Annals, vol. 15, p. 389. This, however, is not original
with M. Drapiez, as Moseley mentions  the same plant as an antidote.—
Mosely ou Tropical Diseases, p. 37.
  { Seethe experiments of Fontana in Phil. Trans, vol. 70, p. 163, also Dr
Brocklesby's in ibid. vol. 44, p. 408,  and Herissant's,'i\)id. vol. 47, p. 75.
  || Eclectic Repertory, vol. 2, p. 289.
  § Philosophical Transactions, vol. 60, p. 772. 
448              VEGETABLE  POISONS.
flammation on the skin when rubbed against it ;* and

it affords a most beautiful article of furniture,  being

interspersed with green and yellow veins like marble,

but the dust is of  so  acrid  and poisonous a nature,

that the sawyers  aud carpenters are  forced  to work

with gauze masks, to  protect them from  its injurious

effects.f
   Curare.   The war poison of the  Indians  on  the

banks  of  the  Oronooko, in South America.    Some

interesting  details concerning  its  preparation,   are

contained in the note,  extracted from one of the latest

volumes of Humboldt's Personal Narrative, j;

   To these I venture to add the following:

   Calidium seguinum.   I  add  this on the authority

of some  remarks  extracted  from  Hookers  Exotic

Flora.   This plant  is  a native  of the West Indies,

and is  there  called dumb cane,  from  the fact  that its


  * Phil. Transactions, vol. 3, p. 824.
  t Edinburgh Review, vol. 17, p. 374, Amer. ed.
  X Esmeralda is the most celebrated spot on the Oronooko for the fabrica-
tion of this poison.  The Indians collect the liana (bejuco) for  the prepa-
ration of this (the curare,) and it bears the same name as in the forest of
Javita.  It is the Bejuco de mavacure, which is gathered in abundance on
the east of the Mission, on the left bank of the Oronooko and in other pla-
ces.  " The juice ofthe liana when it has been recently gathered, is not
regarded as poisonous ; perhaps it acts in a sensible  manner only when it
is strongly concentrated.  It is the bark and a part of the alburnum, which
contains this terrible poison.  Branches of the mavacure, four or five lines
in diameter, are scraped with a knife, and the bark that comes off, is bruis-
ed and reduced into very thin filaments, on the 6tone employed for grinding
cassava.  The venomous juice being yellow, the whole fibrous mass takes
this colour.  It is thrown into a funnel made of the leaf of a plantain tree,
nine inches high, with an opening four inches wide  A cold infusion is first
prepared by pouring water on the fibrous matter, which is the ground bark
ofthe mavacure—a yellowish water filters during several hours, drop by
drop, through the leafy funnel. This filtered water is the  venomous liquor,
but it acquires strength only when it is concentrated by evaporation,  like
molasses in a large earthern pot.  The Indians from time  to time, invited
us V> taste the liquid.  Its taste, more or less bitter, decides when the con-
centration by fire has been carried sullicieiitly far.  There is no danger in
this, the curare being deleterious only when it comes into immediate con-
tact with the blood. The vapours, therefore, that are disengaged from the
pans, are not hurtful, notwithstanding what has been asserted on this point
by the Missionaries of the Oronooko.  Fontana, in.his fine experiments with
the poisons of the ticunas of the  river of Amazon, long ago proved, that
the vapours arising from this  poison,  when thrown  on burning charcoal,
may be inhaled without apprehension, and that it is false, as M. de la Con-
damine has  announced, that Indian women when condemned lo death,
have  been killed by the vapours of the poison of the ticunas.
  The juice is thickened with a glutinous substance to cause it to stick to 
VEGETABLE POISONS.
449
virulent juice, when applied  to the tongue, causes  a
swelling  which  deprives the sufferer of the power' of
speech.*
   Ava, or yava root, of Otaheite.  This is said to be
the product of a species of pepper, {Piper methysti-
cum,J and it is chewed to great excess in that island.
Its effects when long persisted in, are redness of the
eyes,  general emaciation,  trembling and paralysis,
formation of a scurf over the body, and fatuity.f
   Spigelia marilandica.  (Pink root.)   A native of
the United States.   This in large doses, is a violent
poison.   Its decoction produced vertigo,  diranfess of
sight, and  pain,  in two children who took  it.  One
vomited,  but was not relieved.   Staggering, incohe-
rent talking, and delirium took place, until they fell
asleep.   They  awoke relieved.   The  pupils  were
dilated  during  the  influence of the  poison.$   Dr.
Chalmers attributes the loss of two children who died
in convulsions,  to this article.||
   Ktdmia latifolia.    (Mountain laurel.  Laurel,  m
Pennsylvania—Bay, in Virginia.) A native of the U.
States.   Barton says  that  the Delawares  (Indians)
poison themselves with a decoction of this plants   It
is poisonous  to some  animals, as cattle and sheep ;

the darts which it renders mortal, but taken internally, the Indians con-
XL, tl e curare to be ar. excellent stomachic.  Scarcely a fowl is eaten,
 radds our aulhor) on the banks of the Oronooko, which has not been k. led
hv a noisoneJla-row. The missionaries pretend, that the flesh of aumals is
never^ good, as when these means are employed.  F ather Zea who ao-
 never so guou,  =       .  tertian fever, caused every morning; the live
 wX.Kteio'^"urtpLsfto bTbrought to his hammock together with an
 irmw  NotvvSistanding his habitual state of weakness, he would not con-
 ?E7h\- oneratioto which he attached great importance, to any other


 mentioned  doubling.  Tilloch's  Phil.  Magazine,  vol. 58, p. 233.  See
 also Orfila, vol. 2, p. 479.

 itr Review  vol. 16, u. 79, Amer.ed.


 BtBK°nVMePdIa4nd Phys Journal, vol l,part 1, p. 147
      VOL. II.                 57 
450
VEGETABLE POISONS.
and in the human system, a very small quantity of
the decoction has produced vertigo.*
   Sanguinaria canadensis.  (Blood-root.)  A native
of  the United  States.  This is considered  by Dr.
Bigelow as an acrid narcotic.   A dose of from eight
to twenty grains ofthe fresh powdered root, produces
irritation  of the fauces, heartburn, nausea, mintness.
and frequently vertigo  and diminished vision.   Vo
miting is occasionally produced.f
  On a review of the poisons included in this class, it
will be seen that greater diversity exists, both  as  to
symptoms and  appearances on dissection, than  in ei-
ther of the former.  And there appears to be a leading
distinction, which,  as it were, subdivides it into font
classes.   Thus,  "some are rapidly  absorbed, and
carried into the circulation :  those animals that expe-
rience their effects,  are in possession of nearly all
their intellectual  faculties, but the contraction of the
muscles is such, that the thorax becomes immovable.
asphyxia takes place, and death is produced, without
the least trace of redness being discovered in the di-
gestive canal.   The Upas  tieute, the bean of  St. Ig-
natius, nux vomica,  and. the  Brucea antidysenterica,
are  of this description."    Some again  produce a
strong excitement of the brain,  to  which somnolency
and loss  of the intellectual  faculties  succeed.   In-
flammation of the digestive canal is rarely discovered.
And of this class are camphor, Cocculus indicus, and
the Upas  antiar.  A third  class product? excitement
and lethargy,  accompanied with a local irritation
more or less intense ; and  to this  belong belladonna,
tobacco, stramonium and hemlock.  The last division
are  those which instantly destroy life, by acting on
the nervous extremities ; as the oil of bitter almonds,
and the oil of tobacco.   The third of  these, remarks
Orfila, is alone strictly entitled to the title of narcotico-
acrid. j;

  * Bigelow's Med. Botany, vol. 1, p. 137,139.
  t Bigelow's Med. Botany, vol. 1, p. 79.
  X Orfila, vol. 2, p. 358. 
VEGETABLE  POISONS.
451
  Treatment.  My  remarks here must of course be
very brief.
  The datura,  belladonna,  tobacco, digitalis, ansto-
lochia, and cicuta, must be encountered with an eme-
tic, and the vomiting must be aided by proper drinks.
If symptoms of cerebral congestion supervene, vene-
section  is advisable, and afterwards diluted  acidu-
lated drinks, frequently repeated.   Inflammation is
to be met by its proper remedies.
  The  upas,  nux vomica, brucea, ticunas, camphor
and cocculus,  and  the whole of that class,  require
emetics, and  Magendie and Delille afterwards re-
commend tracheotomy.   In cases of wounds  from
them, the cautery is proper.
  Mushrooms  are best combatted by emetics, cathar-
tics and glysters.  Orfila places great dependence on
cathartics.                       .           .    .
  When the patient is in an alarming state ot intoxi-
cation,  emetics and irritating enemas are indicated,
and venesection is sometimes required *   Acidulated
drinks are subsequently useful.
? See on this subject, Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, vol. 12, p. 
CHAPTER  VII.
                   ANIMAL POISONS.

Caatharides—symptoms—effects on animals—appearances on dissection—
  treatment.  Lytta vittata.  Poisonous serpents—the viper—rattlesnake
  —variety iu the effects of its bite—mockasin snake—antidotes against
  the bite of serpents—treatment ol persons bitten.  Scorpion.  Tarantula
  Bee-^-humblc bee—wasp^—hornet.  Poisonous fiahes-r^catalogue of these
  -rrcause of fish poisonr^treatrnrnt.  Muscles-r-oysters—crab—lobster—
  mackerel—dangerous effects of these at  certain seasons of  thv year
  Oi i.ithorynchus paradoxus.  Toad.  Pheasant or partridge—its poisonous
  nature at some seasons—cause.  Poisonous honey—cause—effects—
  treatment.  Dangers of dissection—consequences occasionally produced
  by slight injuries during dissection—«-treatment.

   Animal  poisons are,   as I have already stated, ar-
ranged  by Fodere and Orfila under the class  of  sep-
tic and putrefying poisons, with the exception of can-
tharides,  which  is,   with  great  propriety,   placed
among the corrosive.   I  shall  commence  with it, and
notice the rest in  their order.

                    CANTHARIDES.

   Cantharis vesicatoria.  (Spanish fly.)   Canthari-
des, according to Robiquet, consists of various  sub-
stances—a green fluid oil—a black matter, soluble in
water and insoluble  in alkohol—a  yellow matter, so-
luble  in both—a fatty matter, insoluble in alkohol—
phosphates of lime and magnesia—acetic and  uric
acids.   None of  these are  vesicatory, but  the epis-
pastic  principle  is a  white crystallizable substance,
insoluble in water, (soluble, however, in it, when mix-
ed with the  yellow matter ;)  soluble in boiling alko-
hol, and in the oils.*   Dr. Thomson styles this  can-
tharidin.   We are, however,  to treat of it as  it is or-

  * Orfila, vol. 2, p. 422. The experiments of Robiquet are quoted in de-
tail in the Eclectic Repertory, vol. 2, p. 405. 
ANIMAL POISONS.
453
dinarily administered, viz. in the form of powder and
of tincture, and the usual symptoms are the following:
When taken internally, cantharides excite a disagree-
able and  nauseating smell, acrid taste, retchings, co-
pious vomitings,  which are often tinged with  blood,
alvine evacuations, also more or less bloody, burning
heat in the stomach and  other  parts, accompanied
with griping and excruciating pains ; great heat in
the bladder,  difficulty iu making water, and the urine
often bloody, sometimes totally suppressed; obsti-
nate, and sometimes painful and excessive priapism,
satyriasis, the pulse  frequent and  hard, while in
some cases, the jaws  are closed \ and convulsions,
general rigidity of the limbs, and delirium,  precede
the death ofthe patient *
   It is  not  necessary to  detail cases illustrative of
this catalogue of symptoms, nor indeed are they of a
nature that would  afford any useful result.  In many
instances, they originated in a desire to stimulate the
exhausted passions of the debauchee,  or  with more
malignant and villainous intentions, were administer-
ed for the accomplishment of seduction.
   The external application  of cantharides, sometimes
gives rise to  similar  consequences, but in a more miti-
gated form.
   As to its effects on animals, Orfila found, that when
injected in the form of tincture into the jugular veins,
it produced vertigo, stupor and death.   The  blood in
the left ventricle of the heart was fluid and reddish—
that in the right  was black, and contained  coagula.
On using alkohol  alone, however, he observedpre-
cisely  the same  effects.   He then tried oil  digested
upon cantharides.   The animal was soon deprived of
sensibility and muscular power, and tetanus, convul-
sions,  difficult respiration, and  death,  supervened.
The lungs  were  found very  bulky and  distended,

' * Orfila, vol. 2,  p. 430 to 439.  Le Clerc, p. 74, 75.  New-England Jour
vol. 11, p. 18. Dr. Francis, however, mentions a case where six ounces of
the tincture were  taken without injury. New-York Med. and Phvs. Jour
nal,vol. 2,p. 28, 
454              ANIMAL POISONS.
with a  great  quantity of reddish serosity ;  in some
parts, they  were livid and  compact.  The mucous
membrane ofthe bladder was slightly red, while that
of the  stomach and duodenum was natural.   When
cantharides in powder were introduced into the sto-
mach, they produced vomiting, the discharge of much
bloody  mucus, pain,  great dejection,  extraordinary
insensibility,  and  death.  The mucous membrane of
the stomach was of a fieryr red, that of the duodenum
less so,  but also inflamed.  The bladder was some-
times seen inflamed and thickened ; and the cesopha-
gus also was occasionally inflamed.*
  As to the appearances  on dissection in man, they
are generally similar to  those  from other corrosive
poisons—inflammation of the stomach and intestines.
Fungous  tubercles,  erosions, and small ulcerations,
have also  been noticed in these parts.  The bladder
has been inflamed or ulcerated, and in some cases,
the external organs of generation have been gangre-
nous.
  If on  dissection, or in the matter vomited, any por-
tion of this poison  remain, it may be detected by its
shining  points, which are of a beautiful green colour.
This, however,  can only be hoped for, when it has
been taken in  the form of powder.  When the tinc-
ture has been administered, we cannot expect to iden-
tify the  substance,  and must rely solely on the symp-
toms and the dissection.
  Treatment.   Oil is recommended by Orfila, but
later experiments have demonstrated  its injurious ef-
fects.   According to Dr. Pallas, it increases the dan-
ger.   Cantharides macerated in cold oil and after-
wards given to dogs, was found to destroy them in a
few minutes.f  And this is owing to the oil dissolv-
ing the  active principle.   Mucilaginous  drinks  are
preferable  to excite vomiting, and to remove the irri-
tation from the bladder.   The warm bath, friction

  * Orfila,  vol. 2, p. 424 to 430.
  t London Med. Repos. vol. 19, p. 259.  Quarterly Journal Foreign Med
and Surg. vol. 5, p. 304. 
ANIMAL  POISONS.
155
and diluents are proper,  and the antiphlogistic treat-
ment is necessary, when any appearances of  inflam-
mation present themselves.
  The Lytta Vittata, (Meloe americana, Potatoe fly,)
and some other species of our own  country,  appear
to possess properties analogous to cantharides.*

                POISONOUS SERCENTS.

  On these, I intend to be very brief, and shall merely
give a short notice of those that are found poisonous
in other countries.   Somewhat more of detail will be
proper in reference to such as are peculiar to the Uni-
ted States.
   The^Viper.  (Coluber berus.  Vipera berus, J is the
most common poisonous serpent of England,  and the
European continent.   Its bite is not uniformly fatal
to man or the larger  animals, but  the season of the
year appears to increase its intensity, being most ven-
omous in summer.  The symptoms are acute pain in
the part wounded, which extends over the limbs  and
even to the external organs—tumefaction and redness,
which afterwards  passes to a livid colour—syncope,
frequent, small,  concentrated and  irregular  pulse—
difficulty of breathing, copious and cold  sweats,  dis-
 turbance of  vision  and of the intellectual faculties,
bilious and  convulsive vomitings, and followed gene-
 rally by yellowness of  the skin.   Gangrene  is apt  to
occur in the wound, when the disease is  about to ter-
minate in death.f
   The poisonous snakes of India  have been noticed
by Russell in a great  work, and his experiments are

'  " See the papers of Dr. Chapman and Dr. Woodhouse, in the New-York
 MedicalJRepository, vol. 2, p. 163, vol. 3, p. 213—of Dr. Schott, in Eclectic
 Bepertory, vol. 2, p. 193—of Dr. J.F. Oana, in Silliman's Journal, vol. 2, p
 137.   This contains an analysis ofthe potatoe  fly, showing that Canthari-
din exists in it.                                .
  t On the effects of the venom of the viper, see Morgagni, vol.3, p. 410
 Orfila, vol. 2, p. 380.  Edinburgh Medical Essays, vol. 6, p. 420. Fontana,
in Phil. Transactions, vol. 70, p. 163.  Redi in do. vol. 1, p. 160.  Atwell
in do. vol. 39, p.394.  Also, London Med. Repos. vol. 14, p. 522—Config
liacchi's Experiments. New-England Journal,  vol. 6, p. 311—Mangili's
 Experiments 
45B              ANIMAL POISONS.
 still  the most valuable we yet have on  the subject.*
 .Notices are interspersed in abundance in various lite-
 rary and scientific  works,  concerning the venomous
 serpents of other countries.!
   In general, the animal  is  most poisonous, and its
 effects  most rapidly  destructive, in  warm  climates.
 Hence the serpents of India and  South A  erica are
 distinguished above all others, for their  venomous
 nature.
   Crotaius horridus.   (The Rattle snake.)  This is
 probably the most  venomous  snake  known in  our
 country, but its effects vary greatly; and this is doubt-
 less, as has  been suggested  by Sir  Everard Home,
 owing to the greater or less intensity ofthe poison.
   " When the poison is very active, the  local irrita-
 tion is so sudden and  violent,  and its effects on  the
 general  system are so great, that death soon takes
 place.   On examination after death, the only altera-
 tion of structure met with, is in the parts close to the
 bite, where the cellular membrane is completely des-
 troyed, and the neighboring muscles are very consid-
 erably inflamed.
   When the poison is  less intense, the shock to the
 general  system  does not prove fatal.   It brings on a
 slight degree of delirium, and the pain in the part bit-
 ten is very severe 5 iu  about half an hour,  swelling
 takes place from the effusion of  serum in the cellular
 membrane, which continues  to  increase  with greater
 or less rapidity for about twelve hours, extending du-
 ring that period  into the neighbourhood of the bite ;
 the blood ceases to flow in the  smaller vessels of the
 swollen  parts; the skin over them becomes quite cold;
 the action of the heart  is so weak that  the pulse is

  * An analysis of many of these is contained in Orfila, vol. 2, p. 387 to 400
See also, the Eclectic Repertory, vol. 2, p. 318,  and Dr. Rankin's Exp. in
 Edinburgh Med. and Surg, Journal, vol. 18, p. 231.
  t An extraordinary case is related by Dr. Pascalis, in the New-York
 Med. Repository, vol. 19, p. 78, of an individual who was bitten by a snake
at St. Domingo.  He survived  the effects many years, but  the leg and
thigh swelled to an enormous stee, and this remained permanent until  his
death.  The only relief he experienced, was to  open one or other of the
capillary vessels 041 the swelling, and discharge four or five ounces of blood
'•Vom it. 
ANIMAL POISONS.
457
scarcely perceptible,  and the stomach is so irritable,
that nothing is retained on it.  In about sixty hours,
these symptoms go off;  inflammation and  suppura-
tion take  place in the injured parts ;  and  when the
abscess formed is very great, it proves fatal.* When
the bite has been in the finger, that part has immedi-
ately mortified.  When death has taken place under
such circumstances, the absorbent vessels  and their
glands have undergone no effects similar to morbid
poisons, nor has any  part lost its natural appearance,
except those immediately connected with the abscess.
   In those patients who recover, the symptoms go off
 more readily and more completely than those produ-
 ced by a morbid poison, which has been received into
 the system."t
   A case is related by  Sir Everard Home, which il-
 lustrates the  above  views.   Thomas  Soper, aged
 twenty-six, was accidentally bitten twice in the hand
 by a rattle snake.  The snake was kept for the pur-
 pose of exhibition, in London.
   The first symptom observed was an incoherence in
 language and behaviour, resembling intoxication.   In
 less than half an hour,  the hand began to swell, next
 the fore-arm, and afterwards the pain extended to the
 axilla.   In two  hours after the bite, Mr. Brodie saw
 him.  The skin was cold, the man's answers inco-
 herent, his pulse  one  hundred in a minute,  and he
 complained of sickness.   Ammonia and  ether were
 exhibited  internally and applied  to the wound.  He
 rejected the first draught, but retained  the  second.
 Fits of fainting  supervened, with coldness ofthe skin.
 On the  next day, blood  was extravasated under the
 skin as low as the loins, and vesications had formed on
 the wounded arm.   Depression and  faintings  con-
 tinued.   These symptoms were present for several
 days with greater or less severity.  The arm slough-

   * A case strongly illustrative of this class of symptoms, is related by Mr
 Breitnal, of Philadelphia, the actual sufferer himself, in the Phil Trans  vol.
 44  p 147.  He survived the bite and recovered, but an abscess formed sev-
 eral months afterwards in the injured part.
   t Home, in Phil. Trans, for 1810.  Eclectic Repertory, vol. 1, p. 320.
      VOL. II.              58 
458              ANIMAL  POISONS.
 ed in various places, and abscesses formed, accompa-
 nied with purging.  Finally, mortification and deliri-
 um occurred, and he died on the fourth of November,
 1807—eighteen days after being bitten.
   On dissection, the body externally was found na-
 tural, with the exception of the arm that had been bit-
 ten.  The wounds  made by the fangs were healed ;
 the lungs  were healthy ; the cavities of the heart con-
 tained  coagulated blood ;  the cardiac portion of the
 stomach was moderately distended with fluid ; while
 the pyloric portion was much contracted, the internal
 membrane had  its  vessels very  turgid  with  blood.
 The intestines and  liver were healthy.   The vessels
 ofthe brain were turgid, and water was effused in it.*
   The effects of the bite of the rattle snake  on ani-
 mals are so well known, and in general, resemble so
 closely those produced on man, that it is not necessa-
 ry to recapitulate them.f
   The Mockasin snake, is another  venomous animal
 peculiar to our  country, and the effects of its bite are
 similar to those of the rattle snake.f
   As to antidotes, and the  treatment proper for bitten
persons, we may remark, that these are numerous and
diversified. Humboldt and  Bonpland mention a New-
 Grenada plant, the Guaco (raikiana guaco,) the juice
of  which seems  to deter snakes from biting persons
 on whom it is applied,  and even when they are bit-
 ten, the application of the leaves prevents the usual
 effects. ||

  * Eclectic Repertory, vol. 1, p. 312.
  t  See on this point, Phil. Trans, vol. 35, p. 309, 377.  Dr. B. S Barton
 mentions  two cases of rabbits bitten by rattle snakes.  One recovered
gradually in three days, the other died in 74 minutes. On dissection, the
great curvature ofthe stomach was seen inflamed.  Around the bite, blood
was effused, and the solids were in a gelatinous, bloody state.  (Barton's
 Med. and Phys. Jour vol. 1, part 1, p. 167.
  X New-York Medical Repository, vol. 8, p. 441.  Quere, is the copperhead
snake, (scytale mockeson of Say, and scylale cupreus of Rafinesque,) and the
mockasin  snake the same animal ?  Silliman's Journal, vol. 1, p. 84, 256,
contains some papers on these, bui it is not stated whether they are identi-
cal or distinct. Say, however observes, that the coluber hetcrodon is also
often called mockasin.
  fl Orfite, vol. 2, p. 441. 
ANIMAL  POISONS.
459
  Arsenite of potash,  (Fowler's solution,)  has been
used with great success by Mr. Ireland, in the West
Indies, to counteract the effects ofthe bites of snakes.*
The Pill of  Tanjore, also an arsenical preparation,
was sometimes used by Dr. Russel with apparent suc-
cess on animals, but several however, to whom it was
administered, died in the same way as if nothing had
been taken.t
   Ammonia, and Eau de Luce have many testimonies
in their favour, while some, as Sir Everard Home and
Orfila, doubt their specific virtues.^  They are how-
ever useful in promoting perspiration.   Besides these
many plants have acquired  a temporary  reputation
in our own country, and in South America.   Of  the
former, are the  Aristolochia  serpentaria, Prenanthes
alba, and Polygala senega ; and in South America,
the Eupatorium ayaparia, the Algaliaor  Yerba del
sapo, aud the Raiz preta.§
   Caustics are valuable, but often prove ineffectual,
 and the treatment at present most relied on, is the ap-
plication of ligatures above the part bitten, but not too
tight, nor too  long continued.   Then cauterize the
 wound,  with a hot iron  or lunar caustic,  and alter-
 wards apply compresses  to the  part.   Perspiration
 and sleep should be encouraged  by  small doses ot

   * See his cases in the Medico-Chirurg. Transactions, vol. 2, p. 396.
   ♦ Orfila  vol 2  n 446. New-York Med. Rep. vol. 7, p. ij-
    Sb'nVols'infavour of these may be W"'^^-
 ries vol   14, p. 297.  London Med. Repos. vol. 8, p. 73. INew-Yoih: neu.
 Re'posUory, vol. 9, p. 109.  Edinburgh Med and Surg. Journal, vol.18,.
 ,a "*1  London Med. and Phys. Journ. vol.29, p. l-w-
 'Vd, BrSeUstates, that prLnthesalba is a famous Indian aire for the
 bite of serpents, Barton's Med. and Phys.  Journal, vol. 2 pait 1, p. 101-
 Or BartonTpaper in the American Philosophical Transactions, vol 3 p
 S> contains* a'.ong list of supposed vegetable -^H  b£
 of the rattle snake.  On the• eugorju-j •JJ*™^;^. }££$;&.
 tfffriSi.^^S.i-"Jour"3, / 322. On the raiZ pre.a,
 Edinburgh Phil. Journ. vol. 1, p. 218      aDDarently proved successful.



 heliff that the recovery depended upon the medicines emplojed. 
460
ANIMAL POISONS.
 ammonia,  Madeira wine and  ether,  and the patient
 should be kept in bed, well covered.  Gangrene is to
 be combatted with antiseptics.*
   The Scorpion is most venomous in southern coun-
 tries.  Instances are recorded, of  its  sting produc-
 ing grievous local  inflammation,  and  occasionally
 fever, trembling and pain,  on  man, in France  and
 Italy.  Animals, as dogs and cats, generally survive,
 though some have died from its poison, f
   The Tarantula produces similar effects, local rath-
 er than general, and the fabulous stories respecting it
 are now well understood and  duly appreciated.   It
 would seem, however, that  there are species whose
 sting may prove fatal.   Dr. Graperon states, that he
 saw two fatal cases in the Crimea—one proved so in
 forty eight hours, another in six days.   The first was
 that of a peasant, who was stung while sleeping in his
 hut.   The sting was soon very painful, his neck swel-
 led and the respiration  became  difficult forty-four
 hours after the accident.   On the  right side of  the
 neck, there  was a brownish violet mark,  the  neck,
 head and shoulders were swelled, and the thorax from
 the  clavicle to the false ribs, was of a bluish colour.
 Scarifications, the actual  cautery, oil externally and
 internally, and ammonia, were all tried in vain.J
   The bite of the spider is also said to have caused
 local inflammation,  together with general irritation,
 but  I have not  been able  to find any well authenti-
 cated cases.
   The sting ofthe bee, the humble-bee, the wasp, and
 the hornet, have each occasionally produced danger-
 ous and alarming symptoms.   Inflammation more or
 less extensive has  followed, and  if the part injured
 be a sensitive one, great misery is produced.  Several

  * Orfila, vol. 2, p. 450.  A case of cure by ligature is mentioned in the
 Eclectic Repertory, vol.4, p. 3Ss.  1 may add in this place, that I have
been favoured with a communication from  Dr. Holbrook, of Venice, Cay-
uga county, in this state, in which he relates several cases, of persons bitten
by snakes, who were remarkably and speedily relieved by the free admin-
istration of Peruvian bark in milk.
  t Orfila, vol. 2, p. 411.                         •
  t Quarterly Journal  Foreign Med. and Surg. vol. 1, p. 215. 
ANIMAL POISONS.
461
cases of this nature,  are cited by Orfila, and in a co-
temporary journal, a remarkable instance is mention-
ed, where the sting of a bee excited vomiting, fainting,
sweating, trembling, and great difficulty of breathing.
The patient had been  stung on the  back oi  the left
middle finger,  but it caused little pain and no swell-
ing.*
   The sting of the scorpion, bee  or wasp, requires,
according  to its  violence, internal or external reme-
dies.  Generally,  emollient anodyne applications  to
the  injured part, are sufficient to allay the irritation,
after extracting the sting.  The volatile alkali is also
a valuable medicine  to  be  administered  in severe
cases.

                  POISONOUS  FISHES.\

   Numerous cases are on record, proving the poison-
ous nature of various species of fish, and particularly
in the West Indies.   Dr.  Burrows  has given us  a
catalogue  of  such,  which it may be useful to quote.
Balistes monoceros, (old wife.)  Ostracion globellum,
(smooth  bottle-fish.)   Tetrodon sceleratus,  (tunny.)
Tetrotlon  ocellatus,  (blower  or blazer.)    Muraena
major, (conger eel.)  Coryphcena splendens, (dolphin.)
Sparus chrysops, (porgee.)   Coracinus fuscus major,
(grey snapper.)  Coracinus  minor,  (hyne.)  Perca
major  of Browne,   (Esox  barracuda,  barracuda.)
Perca veuenata, (rock-fish.)   Perca venenosa of Ca-
tesby,  (grooper.)    Scomber maximus, (xiphias of

   • Orfila  vol 2, p. 414, 415.  Edin. Med. and Surg. Jour. vol. 8, p. 130.
   t For the purpose of abbreviating my references, and at the same, time
civing a view of the authorities to which I have referred, I will cite the fol-
lowing papers on fish-poison.  Dr. Chisholm, in Edinburgh Med and Surg
Journal, vol. 4, p. 393.  Dr. Burrows,  in London Med. Repository, vol. 3,
n 445  Dr. E. Thomas, in Memoirs Med. Soc. of London, vol. 5, p. 94
 Dr. Meyer, in Barton's Med. and Phys Journal, vol 1, part 2, p. 43.  Mr
 Quarrier, in London Med. and Phys. Journal, vol. 25, p. 398 Mariners
Tonga Islands, vol. 1, p. 309, Lond. ed.  Mr^Anderson, in Phil Transac-
tions, vol. 56, p. 544.  Orfila, vol. 2, p. 417.  Dr. Dickson, in Annals of Phi-
losophy, vol. 11, p. 462.                           .
   Of these  Dr. Chisholm's is by far the most learned and copious, and I re-
commend it to those who desire an acquaintance with the  medical litera-
ture of this subject.  Dr. Burrows' is equally valuable. 
462              ANIMAL  POISONS.
Browne,  king-fish.)   Scomber thynnus,  (bonetta.)
Another  species of scomber,  (cavalloe,  horse-eye.)
Scomber  ca^ruleo argenteus nudus, of Browne, (Spa-
nish mackerel.)   Mormyra of Browne, (blue purrot-
fish.)  Clupea thryssa, (yellow-billed sprat.)  Cancer
astacus, (sea lobster.)  Cancer ruricolus, (land crab.)
Mytilus edulis, (muscle.)
   Of all these, the clupea (yellow billed sprat) is the
most active  and dangerous ; aud the usual course  of
symptoms from it is the following: itching  over the
whole body—violent colic pain—a  contraction  and
pungent heat of the oesophagus—nausea—heat of the
skin,  and great acceleration ofthe pulse—giddiness—
loss of sight—cold  sweats—insensibility, and death.
Sometimes  the disease is  uncommonly rapid—con-
vulsions ensue immediately after swallowing the fish,
and death is a speedy consequence.  Indeed, whites
and negroes have both been known  to expire at St.
Eustatius, and other of the Leeward islands, with the
sprats in their mouths unswallowed.*  This, how-
ever, is said to be the only fish which produces imme-
diate  death, even  within the tropics.
   The grey snapper produces cholera  morbus  and
excruciating  pain,  with efflorescence, and is apt  to
leave a weakness  ofthe lower extremities, dimness  of
sight, and dulness of hearing.
   These are  also  the ordinary results, with, however,
some variety, that are experienced from the use ofthe
various kinds enumerated in the preceding catalogue.
The contraction and heat of the (esophagus does not
occur in some cases, but in its place  there is an ex-
cessive heat  of the  mouth  and tongue.   A miliary
eruption, or  an efflorescence over the whole body,  is
also very common.f
   The cause of this poison has been the subject of
much ingenious research.  Dr. Chisholm inclined to
the idea, that it was owing to the fish feeding on cop-
per banks.  He would  seem, however, to have aban
* Chisholm, p. 39")
t Thorn a*. 
ANIMAL POISONS.               463
doned this, as on chemical  examination, a portion  of
the  argillaceous stone of  Antigua was found not  to
contain any ;  but a precipitate was obtained, possess-
ing the qualities of sulphate of barytes.*
   Dr. Burrows has investigated  this question  with
great ability.   He is of opinion that the poison does
not exist in the skin, or in the stomach and  intestinal
canal,  or in the liver  and gall-bladder exclusively,
although  there is  no doubt that  persons  have been
poisoned  from  eating  these  various  parts.   It per-
vades  the whole substance of the fish,  and  this  is
abundantly proved  by the statements of Dr.  Chis-
holm,  and  the numerous  authorities adduced  by
him.  As to  its   origin,  he  discusses  the cupreous
theory of Dr. Chisholm, and shows the great impro-
bability of the metal being held in solution in the sea-
water.  The  fact  also that  land-crabs occasionally
produce similar symptoms, is  further urged against
this opinion.   The idea that other  substances  taken
as food by fish, may be the  cause of their  poisonous
nature, is  shown to  be  unfounded.  He  concludes
with  advancing and establishing the belief,  that a
morbid change takes place in the system of the fish.
And this  is particularly to be expected in those taken
from the tropical seas, as  they are  immediately  ex-
posed to a high temperature, and putrefaction must
commence with the extinction of life, and proceed
with intense rapidity.f

   * London Med. Repository, vol. 5, p. 13.
   t Burrows.  I add the following, as  it contains the observations of au
acute and learned  observer, and at the  same  time is, I believe, the«latest
notice we have on the subject.
   " Jan. 18,  1819.  A paper was read by Dr. Ferguson, before the Royal
Society of Edinburgh, "On the poisonous fishes of the Caribbee islands."
   The author endeavoured to prove, that in all  the larger  fishes of prey,
the poisonous quality was a rare and accidental occurrence, and that it way
found to be present only  at certain seasons of  the year in one or two ofthe
smaller species of fish,  more particularly in the yellow-billed sprat, (the
 Sardine dore of the French,  and  Clupea thryssa of naturalists.) From
whence he inferred that the iarger voracious fishes, such  as the baracosta,
(Perca major of naturalists,) «k.c. became poisonous only at  the times  they
had recently  been preying upon the smaller poisonous prey. The notion
of their being made poisonous from being found  in copper  banks, or their
eating the stinging blubbers, (the medusa? and  holothuriee,) was refuted. In 
461
ANIMAL  POISONS.
   Treatment.   An emetic, (of sulphate  of zinc)  or

cathartic  should be  immediately  administered,  ac-

cording to the  time that has eKpsed  since the inges-

tion  of  the  poisonous  substance.   If,  however,  the

spontaneous vomiting or purging be very great, it may

sometimes be  necessary  to check  it  by anodynes.

These are also proper when spasms supervene.   And

for  the sequelae,  Dr. Chisholm advises a solution of

alkalies in water.    Sugar,  containing a few drops of

sulphuric  ether, has also been recommended.

   Muscles sometimes produce symptoms very analo-

gous to those just related, and death has occasionally

been  the  consequence  in  weak females and in  chil-

dren.   Violent oppression and  agony, swelling of the

face, a scarlet  efflorescence over the body, insatia-

ble thirst, tormina and vomiting are the  usual effects ;

and  in fatal cases,  coldness of  the extremities,  low


regard to tests, it was shown that none could be depended upon ; that no-
thing whatever could be discovered from inspection of the fish; that the
boasted test of boiling apiece of silver with  the suspected fish, proved no-
thing, whatever  might be its  actual quality; that so far from there being
any marks of disease in the viscera, or other parts of poisonous fishes, they
were found to be in the best season, and of the  highest quality, in all re-
spects.
  The poison  of the yellow-billed sprat was  supposed to be inherent in the
animal at certain seasons of the year, and not occasioned by Its being fed
upon any undiscovered local marine poison, from the circumstance ofthe
other smaller fishes that were found in the same place, never partaking of
the same poisonous nature, and from the poison ofthe fish being more po-
tent and deadly than any known or even supposable article of  food could
be likely to communicate.
  With respect to remedies or antidotes, the efficacy of sugar was alone
established as deserving of credit.  Wines, spirits, and the condiments used
at table, were believed to have obtained occasional credit, only from being
used in such slight cases of the poison as would likely have passed away
without any remedy.  As a precaution in all cases of suspicious fish ofthe
larger species, the cleaning them out as soon as caught, was recommended
as a useful and proper one, to prevent the carcase being farther tainted by
the lodgement of any poisonous matter (such as that of the yellow-billed
sprat) recently swallowed ; though it was shown at the same time, that the
doing so, and even salting the fish afterwards, could not in any instance do
away with the poisonous impregnation so communicated to these voracious
creatures, whose powers of assimilation, from the shortness of the intestines
and great size ofthe liver, must be supposed to be infinitely quicker than
what takes place among terrestrial animals,   it was  useful also in a more
humble way, by furnishing the material of the only criterion hitherto  dis-
covered for detecting the poison, which was shown to be that of giving a
portion ofthe liver or offal to some  inferior animal, such as a cat, a duck,
or a pig, and ascertaining its effects upon them, before making use  of the
fish."  Edinburgh Phil. Journal, vol. 1, p. 194. 
ANIMAL POISONS.
465
 and  quick pulse, hiccup, delirium  and  occasional
 coma.*
   In a case which  Fodere examined after death, he
 found the stomach and intestines slightly inflamed.-f
   The oyster, lobster, crab and mackerel of our New-
 Vork market,  have each  occasionally produced poi-
 sonous effects,  although I know of no case of death
 from them.J  Some years since a quantity of oysters
 arrived in the month of September at Dunkirk,  from
 Normandy.   They were extensively purchased  and
 eaten, and colic, diarrhoea and cholera morbus imme-
 diately prevailed to a great extent.  It was supposed
 that the oysters were the cause, and Dr. Zandyck was
 commissioned to enquire into the subject.  He found
 that  many of these animals,  contained water which
 left a slimy  deposit, and had a  decidedly brackish
 taste,  and  he suggested that the mischief might be
 owing  to the weakness and  languor of the oyster,
 which  had not sufficiently animalized the contained
 sea-water. ||
   The treatment in all these cases must be similar to
 that already advised as to poisonous fishes generally.
   Ornithorynchus paradoxus.    It has  lately  been
 discovered that the spur of this extraordinary animal,
 is hollow and connected with a cyst, through which
 a poisonous  fluid is injected into the wound which
 the animal makes.  It causes inflammation and swel-
 ing, but does not  prove fatal.   In one  case the arm
 swelled, the jaw became clenched, aud the individual
 exhibited all the symptoms of persons bitten by snakes.
 They  yielded to  the external application of  oil, and
 the internal use of ammonia,  but  he did not  recover
 the use of his arm for a month. §>   The tube is very

 * See two  fatal cases from eating muscles, by Dr. Burrows, in London
 Med. Bep. vol. 3, p. 445. Instances are also related in Orfila, vol. 2, p. 419,
 and Fodere, vol.4, p. 85.
 t Vol. 4, p. 85.
 X A case of poisonous effects from a crab, supervening within fifteen
minutes after eating it, is mentioned in the New-York Med. Rep. vol. 12,
p. 189.
 jj London Med. Rep. vol. 13, p. 58.
 § Annals of Philosophy, vol. 9, p. 325
    VOL. II.              59 
466
ANIMAL POISONS.
minute and so  small indeed, that it will not admit a
horse hair.*
  As to the venomous nature of the Toad, various and
contradictory opinions have existed.   It is doubted
at the present day, though formerly  it was believed.
King John of England, is supposed to have been poi-
soned by a  drink in which  matter from a living toad
had been infused.   Pelletier has analyzed the venom
of the common toad, and states it to consist of an acid
—a very  bitter aud even caustic  fat  matter, and an
animal matter  having some  analogy  to gelatine.f
No experiments however, appear to have been made
with it.
  The Pheasant of this state and Pennsylvania, (or
Partridge,  as it is sometimes styled,) is  deemed poi-
sonous during the winter and spring, and the  cause
assigned for it, is its feeding on the buds of the laurel,
(Kalmia  latifolia,)  which  is one of  the few shrubs
which preserves its verdure throughout the cold sea-
son.   The facts that we have on this subject are  not
numerous, but  the impression is notwithstanding a
general and probably a safe one.    Dr. Mease has
published several cases, which occurred in 1791 and
179.2, in Philadelphia,  where individuals  dining on
pheasants solelyr,  were in a few  hours after, seized
with giddiness, violent  flushings of heat  and  cold,
sickness at  stomach, and repeated vomiting.  These
symptoms were soon succeeded  by delirium,  weak
pulse and extreme debility, while  some cases  were
marked by  the  preservation of the senses,  but a total
inability to  articulate.  They were generally reliev-
ed  by emetics,  diluents  and  mild stimulants.    One
case of death ensued, but there were so many causes
combining,  that it would be improper to ascribe it to
the food alone. %

  * Edinburgh Phil. Journ. vol. 6, p. 396.  See also, Blainville on the spur,
Annals, vol. 10,  p. 112.
  t London Med. Rep. vol. 9, p. 168.  A case somewhat similar to the one
mentioned in the text, is contained in Valentini's Pandects, vol. 1, p. 554.
De diarrhaa lethali a talpa (mole) potu ordinario injecta.   The answer of
the Medical Faculty of Giessen, discountenancing this idea, and attrihuting
it to horror, is also given;
  X Mease, in New-York Med. Repository, vol. 1, p. 153.  Barton, in Amer- 
ANIMAL POISONS.
467
  In a case that occurred  to Dr. Drake,  also in the
winter, vertigo, deadly sickness at the stomach, with
extreme languor  and exhaustion suddenly attacked
the patient.  The pupils were dilated, no pulse was
present iu the arms or temple, and excruciating pain
in the stomach, with a disposition to  vomit next su-
pervened.   An emetic  somewhat relieved  these, but
tenesmus and griping remained for some time, and he
very gradually recovered.*
   Poisonous Honey.  It  has  long been known that
honey is occasionally poisonous.  Many of the an-
cient writers contain facts on this subject, and in par-
ticular, a number  of the Greek soldiers during the re-
treat of the ten thousand, are said to have been vio-
lently affected by some they  had eaten near Trebi-
sond.f-  I will only notice at this time, the effects that
have been produced in our own country, and their
probable causes.
   Dr. Barton, in  the  paper already noticed,  states
that a party of adventurers, removed some hives of
bees from Pennsylvania to New-Jersey, in the hope
that the savannahs of the latter country might  be fa-
vourable to the increase of these animals, and conse-
quently to the making of  honey.  They accordingly
placed them  in the  above situations, aud  where the
kalmia was the principal flowering shrub.  The bees
increased prodigiously, and their enterprize appeared
successful:  but it was soon found that every one who
 ate of the honey, became intoxicated  to a high degree.
 It was then made into metheglin, but with  a similar
effect on those who partook of it.
   The  usual symptoms  are a dimness of sight, or
 vertigo, succeeded by a delirium, which is sometimes

 ican Philosophical Transactions, vol. 5, p. 60.  The opinion has been long
 entertained, that the food of animals may become  poisonous from feeding
 on noxious substances.  A number of authors are  quoted to this effect in
 Schlegel, vol. 3, p. 134,  and among other  remarks, it is stated that birds
 feeding on darnel have proved noxious.
   « New-York Med. Repository, vol. 21, p. 460.
   f On the knowledge of the ancients concerning poisonous honey, see
 Dr. B. S. Barton's paper, in the American Phil. Transactions, vol. 5, p. 65 to
 68, and Fodere, vol. 4, p. 290, 
468              ANIMAL  POISONS.
mild and pleasant and sometimes ferocious,  ebriety,
pain in the stomach and intestines,  convulsions, pro-
fuse perspiration, foaming at the mouth, vomiting and
purging, and in a few instances,  death.   Sometimes
vomiting is among the earliest symptoms,  and in that
case,  the patient is readily relieved, although a tem-
porary weakness of the limbs is not  an  uncommon re-
sult.*
  Dr. Hosack has recorded two cases,  in  which this
substance produced violent vomiting, cold extremities
and a livid  appearance of the  countenance.   The
pulse was reduced to about twenty in a  minute.   The
spontaneous vomiting, however,  being followed by a
dose of castor oil, together with the  application of
fomentations, relieved the sufferers.   In these instan-
ces, the honey was  of a dark reddish  colour,  and a
thicker consistence than is usually sold in the mar-
ket^
  From the facts mentioned above,  Dr. Barton is of
opinion,  that  the poisonous nature of the honey is
owing to the bees feeding on venomous plants—as the
various species of kalinia,  the  andromeda mariana,
which  is  destructive  to sheep ; the rhododendron ;
the azalea nudiflora,  and the datura.  He  recom-
mends that every foetid or poisonous vegetable should
be removed from the habitations of these animals.
  Besides the poisons now considered,  there are oth-
ers enumerated by systematic writers,  which I defer
noticing, until I commence the investigation of medi-
cal police.  Of this description are poisonous ani-
mals, used as food, as oxen, sheep,  8£c. in whom the
fluids have  been depraved by  disease, and rabies
(hydrophobia.)  I shall conclude this chapter with a
few remarks on the dangers of dissection.
  The accidents to which anatomists are exposed in
the prosecution of their studies, are divided by Baron
Percy into two  classes—those resulting from  the pu-
trid gases extricated  from the  dead animal matters
" Barton ut antea, vol. 5, p. 52.
t Hosack's Med. and Phil. Reg. vol. 3, p. 390. 
ANIMAL poisons.
469
and  acting on the system generally', and those from
inoculation of a septic principle, in wounds.  I pro-
pose noticing the second only.
  Fortunately, it is not a frequent occurrence, but the
instances that are recorded are marked by a train of
symptoms peculiarly malignant, and often  suddenly
fatal.  Dr. Chambon pricked his middle finger with
the  sphsenoid bone of a skull, that had been long
macerating.  He was soon after seized with the most
intolerable pain, and inflammatory swelling of the fin-
gers and hands.   At  another  time, from a similar
cause, the mental faculties were disordered, the pulse
was irregular, and extreme debility was present.
  Corvisart,  while examining a  dead body, pricked
his finger.  The arm immediately swelled  to an enor-
mous size, and it was only by making repeated and
deep incisions into the  tumefied  parts, that Desault
preserved  his  life.*   Le Clerc, professor of legal
medicine in the school of medicine at Paris, opened
the body of an individual who had died of putrid fe-
ver.  In dissecting, be wounded his fingers.  The
virus immediately penetrated over the  whole system,
and he died on the third day  after the accident had
taken place.   On examination, all  the. viscera were
found in a putrid state.f
  Cases have also lately occurred in England and in
this country.   Dr. Pett of Clapton, assisted a medi-
cal friend in examining the body of a lady, who died
of peritoneal inflammation after child-birth.  Twelve
hours after,  he complained of pain in the middle fin-
ger  of  his right hand, where  a slight  superficial
wound  was  discovered.   This  was  touched  with
caustic, and  afterwards with strong sulphuric acid,
but he did  not feel either of the applications.   A sec-
ond application  of lunar caustic  produced intense
pain.  This  was followed by severe  rigor, and the
pain spread with increasing agony along the arm.  He
passed a sleepless night, and in the morning, his fin-
* Percy. New-England Journal, vol. 8, p. 193.
j New-York Med. Rep. vol. 11, p. 433. 
470
ANIMAL POISONS.
ger was white and without sensation, and his counten-
ance alarmingly altered.   The arm went on to swell,
the superficial  absorbents appeared inflamed, the pec-
toral and axillary region became  much affected, the
finger  put on the appearance of gangrene, and there
was high nervous excitement generally.   The  unfa-
vourable syrmptoms rapidly increased,  and notwith-
standing  every means that was used, he sunk in 105
hours after  the injury.  On examination, the  chest
and abdomen  were found  healthy,  the heart rather
large and flabby, and the liver considerably deranged
by a chronic affection.*
  A valued friend  and colleague of mine, during the
present summer,  nearly lost his life from a  similar
cause.   He punctured  his finger with a needle while
examining the  body of a child.  In forty-eight hours
afterwards,  acute, lancinating  pains  were  felt in the
wound, and it  assumed a deep purple colour.  The
arm itself, and  the glands of the axilla  also became
affected, and were exquisitely painful.   A general
disturbance of the nervous system  soon succeeded,
and he  was only relieved by a strict adherence to the
antiphlogistic treatment.
  These cases are sufficient to show the danger that
sometimes follows from a puncture during dissection.
Whether this danger is aggravated by a peculiar con-
dition of the system, is in some degree still undeter-
mined ; but it is not improbable that the effects may
be  exacerbated in cases where  there is no previous
predisposition  to  disease,  either of a temporary or
constitutional nature, f
  As to the treatment, but little can be said.   Cbaus-
sier recommends that every student should keep con-
stantly in his pocket a small phial of muriate of anti-

  *  Quarterly Journal Foreign Med. and Surg. vol. 5, p. 313.
  t There is a very curious fact recorded by Professor Silliman, in his
Journal, (vol. 2, p. 168,) on the authority of Dr. Samuel Brown.  Dr. B. in-
formed him that he had had patieuts under his care, who had been bitten in
personal  combats, and whose wounds exhibited every symptom of poison,
pertinaciously resisting all the ordinary modes of cure. The saliva and tar-
tar of the teeth, are mentioned as probably the deleterious substances in
these cases. 
                 ANIMAL POISONS.             471

mony, and whenever he wounds himself, immediately
cauterize the  puncture  with it.   Percy advises the
application of strong nitric acid.
  The disease of the system can only be combatted
by  the same  remedies that are generally applicable
in cases where the nervous system is severely affect
ed.*

  * New-England Journal, vol 8, p. 195
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