Chapter XV: Part 15

Poisoning, in war, is even considered by the law of nations as more
odious than assassination, of this _Grotius_ (lib. iii. c. 4.) has
enlarged. It was a maxim of the Roman senate, that war was to be
carried on by arms, and not by poison (_Aul. Gell. Nat. Altico._ lib.
iii. c. 8.). Even _Tiberius_ rejected the proposal made by the Prince
of the Catti, that if poison was sent to him, he would destroy
_Arminius_; he received for answer, that the Roman people chastised
their enemies by open force, without having recourse to wicked
practices and secret machinations (_Val. Max._ 1. iv. c. 5.)

Footnote 109:

See also 4 _Co. R._ case of _Vaux_, who was executed for poisoning
with Cantharides. “Persuadebat eundem Nichol’ recipere et bibere
quemdam potum mixtum cum quodam veneno vocat cantharides, affirmans et
verificans eidem Nichol’ quod præd’ potus sic mixtus cum præd’ veneno
vocat’ canth’ non fuit intoxicatus (Anglice poisoned) sed quod per
reception’ inde præd’ Nich’ exit’ de corpore dictæ Margaretæ tunc
uxoris suæ procuraret et haberet.” It is to be hoped that the age of
Philtres and love powders is passed.

Footnote 110:

At Warwick Assizes, 18 _Eliz._ _John Saunders_ and _Alexander Archer_
were indicted for the wilful murder of _Eleanor Saunders_, an infant
of 3 years of age, daughter of the first prisoner. _Saunders_ wishing
to get rid of his wife consulted _Archer_, by whose advice he gave her
(being ill) a roasted apple, with which he had mixed _arsenic_ and
_roseacre_. She ate a small part of it, and in his presence gave the
remainder to the infant, for which _Saunders_ reprehended her, saying
apples were not good for such children, but he permitted the child to
swallow the poison, lest he should be suspected. He was condemned and
executed, but a point was reserved as to the guilt of his accomplice
_Archer_, for which, see _Plowden’s Rep._ 474.

Footnote 111:

The study of poisoning appears to have been of considerable antiquity.
_Ulysses_ sought poison for his weapons from _Ilus_, “φαρμακον
ανδροφονον” Od. 1. 1. v. 261; but the conscientious pharmacopolist
refused to furnish his dangerous preparations to the wily chief.

Footnote 112:

Taciti Annal: Lib: iv. c. 8.

Footnote 113:

Hist: Plant. Lib: ix. c. 16, p. 189.

Footnote 114:

Lib: viii, c. 18.

Footnote 115:

For the ingenious mode in which this poison was administered, see
_Tacitus_. The prince having called for a cup of wine, it was
purposely presented too hot; he desired cold water to be added to it,
and the opportunity was then taken to infuse the poison. By this
stratagem the taster (“calida gelidæque minister.” _Juv. Sat._ v. _v._
63.) escaped its effects, in which he must otherwise have participated
with _Britannicus_.

Footnote 116:

The reader will find a very interesting account of this diabolical
woman in _Labat’s Travels through Italy_, and also in _Beckman’s
History of Inventions_.

Footnote 117:

_Hoffman_ Medicin. Rational.

Footnote 118:

This story, if we mistake not, suggested to the successful author of
Kenilworth, the tragic death of his Alchymist.

Footnote 119:

The belief in the possibility of poisoning by the vestments is very
ancient, as is shewn by the fabled death of Hercules.

----“Capit inscius heros:
Induiturque humeris Lernææ virus Echidnæ.
-----------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------
Incaluit vis illa mali; resolutaque flammis;
Herculeos abiit late diffusa per artus.”

_Ovid. Metam. Lib._ ix. _v._ 157.

Footnote 120:

Quæst. Med. Leg.

Footnote 121:

_Sir Edward Coke in the trial of Sir John Hollis._

Footnote 122:

_Bacon’s_ works, vol. ii. p. 614.

Footnote 123:

“επιφερεν οιδηματα σωματος, μετα ωχροτητος επιτεταμενης. δυσπνοειν και
δυσωδια οδωδεναι το στομα, και λυγμος αυτοις επεται, ενιοτε δε και
σπερματος απροαιρετος εκκρισις.”

Footnote 124:

1. κωφος η αφθογγος; 2. φωνητικος.

Footnote 125:

Instit. Mater. Medic. p. 176.

Footnote 126:

_Manuale di Tossicologia_, p. 79. 245.

Footnote 127:

See also _Istituzioni di Med. For. di G. Tortosa_, vol. 2. p. 67, and
authorities there cited.

Footnote 128:

This fact may be illustrated by ancient as well as modern records;
from the poisoned tunic of the Centaur Nessus, to the treacherous
powders of the diabolical _Mary Bateman_.

Footnote 129:

THEOPHRAST. _Hist. Plant._ lx. c. 16. STRABO mentions the action of
the _Lauro-cerasus_, as a poison, and observes that it occasions a
death like that of Epilepsy.

Footnote 130:

All these substances were found in the casket of _Saint Croix_.

Footnote 131:

_Gerarde_, in his Herbal, considers the _Cymbalaria_ to be the
Pennywort of which he describes two varieties, viz. the
Wall-pennywort, and the Water-pennywort; and he blames the “ignorant
apothecaries,” for using the latter instead of the former, as
extremely dangerous and destructive to life. Modern botanists consider
it as an _Antirrhinum_,—A. Cymbalaria. Lin. i. e. Ivy-leaved
Toad-flax. We are not aware of any part of this genus being poisonous.
The _A. Linaria_, common Toad-flax, appears to be the only one to
which any medicinal virtues have been ascribed. _Linnæus_, however,
says (Flor. Suec.) that this plant is used as a poison to flies.

Footnote 132:

Man. de Toxicol.

Footnote 133:

Hist. General de Venen. mineral.

Footnote 134:

BOERHAAVE gives us the following definition. “_Venenum dico omne illud
quod ingestum vel applicatum corpori, talem in corpore humano
mutationem excitat, quæ per ipsam eam mutationem non superatur.
Medicamentum præterea in eo differt, quod ipsa, quam facit mutatio, in
sanitatem tendat, venenum vero corpus mutat, ut ex sano ægrum fiat,
aut cadaver._” (Prælect. Acad. T. vi, p. 283.) HOFFMANN has furnished
us with a definition less exceptionable than the foregoing, but still
inferior to that of _Gmelin_. “_Alit natura res, quæ exigua mole et
summa partium tenuitate, brevi tempore, concentum atque ordinem motuum
vitalium pervertunt, vel plane destruunt; et hæ vocari solent
Venena._” (M.R.S.T. II. p. 88.)

Footnote 135:

We have adopted this term, as one that has been in previous use,
although we are by no means satisfied that a more expressive word
might not be found.

Footnote 136:

This case is detailed in his ‘Pharmacologia,’ under the article _Cupri
Sulphas_.

Footnote 137:

See an interesting paper by Dr. _Marcet_, in the 12th volume of the
Medico-Chirurgical Transactions, entitled, “_Account of a man who
lived ten years after having swallowed a number of clasp knives._”

Footnote 138:

In the reign of LOUIS XIV, _Henrietta_, Duchess of Orleans, is said to
have been poisoned by diamond-dust mixed with powdered sugar. The same
substance is enumerated among other extraordinary poisons, as having
been administered in the case of _Sir Thomas Overbury_.

Footnote 139:

Old women in the country recommend the same remedy for the destruction
of worms; probably the medicine and the poison may be equally
effective.

Footnote 140:

Saggi Scientif. e letter dell’ Accademia di Padova. T. III. p. 11, p.
1.

Footnote 141:

Chylologia.

Footnote 142:

De Venenis.

Footnote 143:

Comment. super Homicid. p. 177.

Footnote 144:

Ratio Medendi. Part VI, p. 60.

Footnote 145:

Hist. General de Venenis Mineral.

Footnote 146:

Med. Leg. Tom. II. p. 170.

Footnote 147:

Tom. II. p. 346.

Footnote 148:

Man. de Toxicol.

Footnote 149:

Fragmenta Chirurg. et Med. p. 66.

Footnote 150:

Pharmacologia, Edit. v. vol. I. p. 324.

Footnote 151:

See Medical Facts and Observations, Vol. v.

Footnote 152:

See M. _Pouqueville’s_ “Voyage de Morée,” also Mr. _Thornton’s_
Travels; and Notes to Lord _Byron’s_ Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage.

Footnote 153:

M. R. S. T. iv. Part iii, p. 278.

Footnote 154:

For the purpose of propitiating the favour of heaven, the alchymist
stamped the figure of the cross upon the vessel, in which he expected
to obtain the long sought prize that was to convert the baser metals
into gold, whence the term _Crucible_ derived its origin. And when the
experiments of chemistry began to be considered as the true tests of
philosophical truth, the expression of “_Experimentum crucis_” was
adopted to signify the highest degree of proof of which a subject is
susceptible.

Footnote 155:

_Sydenham_ considered the occurrence of cholera, as a disease in
England, to be confined to the month of August, at which time, says
he, it appears as certainly as swallows in the early spring, or
cuckows at the approach of summer; but he himself observed it to
appear sometimes towards the end of summer, when the season was
unusually warm; and that the violence of the disease was in proportion
to the degree of heat. _Note. Mrs. Downing_ died in November, and
_Miss Burns_, whose case is so frequently alluded to in this work, in
March.

Footnote 156:

Youths and adults are more generally affected than children and old
persons.

Footnote 157:

_Sydenham_ describing the violent symptoms of cholera concludes by
observing, “and such like symptoms as frighten the by-standers, and
kill the patient in 24 hours.” Syd. Sect. iv, c. 2. It must be
remembered that _Sydenham_ is here describing an extreme case. The
unfortunate _Mrs. Downing_ (see Appendix, p. 277) died in fourteen
hours!

Footnote 158:

See the case of _Mr. Robert Turner_, poisoned by _Eliz. Fenning_, as
related by _Mr. Marshall_.

Footnote 159:

See _Baillie’s_ Morbid Anatomy.

Footnote 160:

Opera Omnia Ch. iv, p. 34.

Footnote 161:

De Causis et Signis. Lib. 1, c. 7.

Footnote 162:

De Abdit. rerum Causis. Lib. ii, c. 15.

Footnote 163:

De Sedibus, &c. Epist. 59, n. 16.

Footnote 164:

Anthropolog: Forens. p. 523.

Footnote 165:

De Signis Veneni dati Diagnosticis, n. 8.

Footnote 166:

M. R. S. T. iv, p. 3, c. 8.

Footnote 167:

Med. Forens. p. 169.

Footnote 168:

Cours de Med. Leg. p. 248.

Footnote 169:

Nouveau Ellem. de Therapeutiq. T. 1, p. 408.

Footnote 170:

Med. Leg. T. 2, p. 225

Footnote 171:

Med. Leg. T. ii, p. 260.

Footnote 172:

Œuvres de Medecine, T. 1, p. 69.

Footnote 173:

De Cholica Pictonum, p. 37.

Footnote 174:

See also _Sloane MSS._ Brit. Mus. 330: 9135. “_Venenum potest generari
in corpore._”

Footnote 175:

Observations on Apparent Death from Drowning, &c. by _James Currie_,
M.D. p. 156.

Footnote 176:

We are informed by _Tortosa_ (Istituzioni di Med. For. vol. ii, p. 62)
that a work has been published by a celebrated physician of Verona,
Rotario, in which the author attempts to establish a diagnosis by
which these symptoms may be distinguished. (Opere Med. p. 116.) We
have not been so fortunate as to obtain a sight of this work.

Footnote 177:

Those who are desirous of becoming farther acquainted with the history
of this opinion may consult the “_Recherches et Considerations
Medicales, sur l’acide Hydro-cyanique, son radical, ses composés, et
ses antidotes_,” par _J. Coullon_, D. M. 1 vol. 8vo. 1819. _Dr.
Granville_ has also in his Treatise on Hydrocyanic acid (edit. 2d
1820) alluded to this opinion, and to the different authors who have
supported it, p. 24. The reader will also find a case by _Fourcroy_,
(Annales de Chimie, tom. 1, p. 66) of a woman, of about thirty years
of age, who in consequence of protracted grief, laboured under a
nervous and melancholic affection; she became extremely emaciated, and
her livid paleness, and universal langour seemed to indicate a
depressed state of vitality, and a decomposition of the animal fluids;
after a few days she was seized with faintings and convulsions, which
were followed by the discharge of drops of blood from the edge of the
eye-lids, the nostrils, and the ears. The linen with which the blood
was wiped was marked with spots of a beautiful blue. Fourcroy examined
this matter, and concluded that the blood contained Prussiate of iron.

Footnote 178:

Anthropolog. Forens. p. 526.

Footnote 179:

Edinburgh Medical Essays.

Footnote 180:

Phil. Trans. A. D. 1772, “_On the Digestion of the Stomach after
Death_,” by _John Hunter_, F. R. S. and Surgeon to St. George’s
Hospital.

Footnote 181:

This phenomenon is frequently exhibited, in a very satisfactory
manner, by inferior animals who die suddenly. _Mr. Hunter_ noticed it
particularly in fish.

Footnote 182:

We allude to a highly interesting paper, to which we shall have
frequent occasion to refer in the progress of the present inquiry,
entitled “_Observations on the Digestion of the Stomach after Death_,”
by _Allan Burns_, Lecturer on Anatomy and Surgery in Glasgow.
Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journ. for April, 1810.

Footnote 183:

_Hunter’s_ Observations on Digestion, p. 185.

Footnote 184:

_Adams’s_ Observations on Morbid Poisons, edit. 2, p. 30, where he
says “but for this purpose, _Mr. Hunter_ saw that the animal must be
in health immediately before death, otherwise neither the quantity nor
quality of the secretion would be equal to the purpose; he was
confirmed in this by the instances in which he saw the stomach
digested; both were men who had died from a violent death; both had
been previously in sufficient health to eat a hearty meal. The fair
inference from these was, that when men die of disease, the appetite
usually ceases, and probably the secretion of the gastric juice also.”

Footnote 185:

_Burns_, loco citato.

Footnote 186:

“It will generally be found that, where the coats of the stomach are
softened by the gastric juice, the vessels are unable to resist the
force of the syringe in injecting the body. In such subjects,
therefore, we find the cavity of the stomach filled with wax, and we
likewise see masses of it collected between the coats of the viscus.”

Footnote 187:

Mark this circumstance, for we shall have occasion to revert to it,
when we come to consider _the part_ of the stomach which undergoes
solution from the action of the gastric juice.

Footnote 188:

A case of extensive solution of the Stomach by the Gastric fluids,
after Death. By _John Haviland_, M. D. Regius Professor of Physic in
the University of Cambridge. Transactions of the Cambridge
Philosophical Society, vol. 1, part ii, p. 287.

Footnote 189:

He had taken, at intervals, a small quantity of port wine and water.

Footnote 190:

Medico-Chirurgical Transactions, vol. iv.

Footnote 191:

1. “The trial of _Charles Angus, Esq._ for the murder of _Margaret
Burns_, taken in short hand by _William Jones_, jun. 8vo.” Liverpool,
pp. 1808, 288. Also

2. “A vindication of the opinions delivered in evidence by the medical
witnesses for the crown, on a late trial at Lancaster for murder,
8vo.” 1803.

3. “Remarks on a late publication, entitled “A Vindication of the
Opinions delivered in Evidence by the Medical witnesses for the Crown,
on a late trial at Lancaster.” By _James Carson, M.D._”

4. “An Exposure of some of the false statements contained in _Dr.
Carson’s_ pamphlet, entitled “Remarks, &c.” in a letter to that
gentleman, by _James Dawson_, Surgeon.”

The suspicion against the prisoner, _Charles Angus_, was, that he had
endeavoured to procure a premature delivery, or abortion, by means of
an instrument resembling a long trochar, and that he had administered,
or been privy to the administration of certain drugs, which had
occasioned such effects upon the stomach of the deceased, as in the
end produced her death. The prisoner was a retired merchant, with two
or three children, with whom the deceased had lived as housekeeper and
governess. It appeared in evidence that improper familiarities had
been noticed between them, and that Miss _Burns_ had, for some time,
appeared out of health, and that her abdomen was much increased in
size at the period when she was attacked with the symptoms which
preceded her death, and which, as we learn from the witnesses on the
trial, presented the following history.

The deceased was seen by the servants of the family at about six
o’clock, on Wednesday morning, the 23d of March, 1808, at which time
she was in her usual state of health; but replied to one of them, who
remarked her having risen earlier than usual, that she could not
sleep. She was next seen by the servants at a quarter before nine,
sitting at breakfast with _Mr. Angus_, but apparently very ill; after
breakfast she was lying on a sofa complaining of a pain in her bowels,
but she was not then sick. 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, being very thirsty, and in considerable
pain, and so sick as to reject the gruel almost as soon as it was
taken. The matter vomited was described by the house-maid as being, at
first, very black, but becoming, towards the last, of a green colour;
the kitchen maid, however, described it as being in the first instance
of a green colour, with yellow pieces in it resembling the inside of
an orange, or the yolk of an egg, and as turning blacker after it
ceased to be green. While thus retching, _Miss Burns_ observed to the
house-maid, “Oh, Betty, what bile comes off my stomach! I wish I had
taken an emetic long since.” On the servants going to bed that night,
she seemed very poorly, but did not complain to them.

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
complained that she was very thirsty; said she was tired of gruel, and
had some water posset, and a little warm beer. She also complained
that she was badly hurt to make water; but was relieved by sitting on
a sliced onion, with some boiling water poured over it. Her vomiting
was now of a blacker colour, and she continued sick and vomiting all
day, till towards evening, when the sickness went off, and she
appeared better, and could stir more about.

On Friday morning, at four o’clock, the house-maid went into the room,
and thought her much worse, as she breathed quicker than before. She
was seen again at six in much the same state, and lying in the same
posture on the sofa; she asked for some warm beer, which settled on
her stomach, and she also took about a pint of gruel; she said that
the pain had left her. Her vomiting had ceased, but was succeeded by a
“_lax_,” which continued all the morning. A little before ten, the
house-maid was sent out for some Madeira, _Miss Burns_ having
expressed a wish for some. Between the hours of ten and eleven, the
kitchen maid was in the room, and received orders about dinner; and
_Miss Burns_ said she would have some barley water. On the return of
the house-maid, about eleven, she went straight into the parlour,
where _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; _Mr. Angus_, who had
nursed her throughout, sitting in an arm chair, apparently so fast
asleep that he was not roused without difficulty. During the whole
course of her illness, she did not go to bed, but remained in the
parlour, generally lying on a sofa. She refused to have medical
assistance; but _Mr. Angus_ said that he had given her seven drops of
laudanum on one night, and ten on another, and that on the morning of
her death he had given her some castor oil, in spirit, but that it
came up immediately.

REPORT OF THE DISSECTION.

On Sunday the 27th of March, 1808, at noon, _Dr. Rutter_ was desired
by the Coroner of Liverpool to take with him an experienced surgeon to
the house of _Mr. Charles Angus_, and there to examine the body of a
young lady who had died suddenly.

The examination was made at two o’clock the same day, by _Mr. Hay_, a
surgeon in Liverpool, with his apprentice, in company with _Dr.
Rutter_ and _Dr. Gerard_; and the following report on the subject was
presented to the coroner in writing.

“On our arrival at the house, we were introduced into a parlour, where
we found _Mr. Angus_, with some other persons to us unknown; and we
delivered to him the note from the coroner as the authority under
which we acted. Upon perusing it, he expressed perfect willingness
that the examination should be made. We were then introduced into the
room up stairs, were the body of the deceased was laid. After having
removed the body, a small stain of blood was observed 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 laid on a table, a
large quantity of a thin yellowish fluid poured out from the nostrils,
and was collected in vessels. No marks of external violence were
discovered on the body; nor was there any appearance of commencing
putrefaction. The nails of the fingers were of a bluish colour; and
the veins on the external surface of the _abdomen_ or belly appeared
to be much enlarged. At this period we were joined by _Mr. Christian_,
surgeon. 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
different 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 appearance
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 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 issued; 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 tender, 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 inner surface was carefully washed; and the contents washed out
were preserved. 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 small intestines, and preserved.

“On examining the womb, it was found to be very considerably enlarged,
and, on its inner surface, the part to which the _Placenta_, or
after-birth, had adhered, was very plainly discernible. This part was
nearly circular, and occupied a space of about four inches in
diameter. The mouth of the womb was greatly dilated. In a word, the
appearances of the womb were such as might have been expected a few
hours after the birth of a child nearly full grown.

“The fluid taken out of the stomach and intestines, and cavity of the
_Abdomen_, as well as that collected from the nostrils, was taken
away: and, afterwards, in the course of the same day, examined, and
subjected to various trials, with a view to discover the presence of
such mineral substances as were likely to produce appearances or
effects similar to those which were found in the stomach of the
deceased. In this examination, we thought it right to request the
assistance of _Dr. Bostock_. The contents of the stomach were, as has
already been mentioned, of a dirty olive colour, thick, and of an acid
smell. A considerable number of large globules of a dark coloured,
dense, oily fluid, floated upon them; but no particular smell that we
could discover. We could not discover, in the contents of the stomach,
by the smell, the presence of any known vegetable substance, capable
of producing deleterious effects when introduced into it. 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. Upon subjecting the contents of the stomach, in
the state in which we found them, to such tests as are deemed
sufficient to detect the presence of any active preparation of Mercury
or Arsenic, we could not detect either of these substances. The
contents of the stomach were then filtered, and subjected to the same
trials, but with the same result. These trials were made at _Dr.
Bostock’s_, in the presence of _Dr. Gerard_ and _Dr. Rutter_.”

The substance of this report was afterwards delivered, in evidence, on
the trial; and the following additional circumstances stated.

“The preternatural opening in the stomach was larger than a crown
piece; but _Mr. Hay_ thinks he may have increased it in drawing down
the stomach, as it was nearly in the centre of the disorganized
portion, where the coats were thin, soft, and semi-transparent. The
stomach was nearly full of the fluid described, but not distended. The
intestines also contained a great deal of a similar fluid; and the
internal villous coat of the duodenum was slightly inflamed, while its
external coat was also more inflamed than that of the other
intestines.”

In consequence of the suspicious circumstances attending the death of
_Miss Burns_, _Charles Angus_ was indicted for her murder; but, after
a trial which occupied the court from eight o’clock on Friday morning,
until three on Saturday, the 2d of September, 1808, the prisoner was
acquitted.

The medical defence, conducted by _Dr. Carson_, and which savoured
more of the ingenuity of the forensic pleader, than the justice of the
honest inquirer after truth, rested upon the following grounds, viz.
1. The appearances of the stomach upon dissection are to be reconciled
upon the supposition of the dissolution of its coats having taken
place, _after death_, in consequence of the action of the gastric
fluid. 2. The symptoms which preceded death were not such as accompany
corrosive poisoning. 3. No poisonous substance was detected in the
body. 4. The appearance of the uterus does not justify the conclusion
that a delivery had recently taken place; such a dilated state of the
organ, had it lately parted with a placenta, must have occasioned
death by hemorrhage, or it must have been found gorged with coagulated
blood. 5. The appearances may be reconciled by supposing that an
expulsion of hydatids had taken place.

We must not omit to state, that in consequence of the intense interest
excited by this trial, the ovaria were subsequently examined, when a
_corpus luteum_ was discovered.

We cannot conclude this account without expressing a regret that
several important sources of information should have been neglected.
The omitting to inspect the appendages of the uterus, to examine the
œsophagus, the chest, and the head, and to analyse the membranes of
the stomach, are instances of inattention, for which it is not easy to
find an excuse. May they furnish a salutary lesson for future
anatomists.

Footnote 192:

Med. Leg. vol. ii, p. 315.

Footnote 193:

This appearance is particularly mentioned by _Juvenal_ as an effect of
poison.

“Per famam et populum _nigros_ efferre maritos.”—_Sat._ i, _v._ 72.

The reader will remember, that we have already stated our opinion,
that the poisons of the ancients were of a vegetable origin.

Footnote 194:

Dissertatio Inauguralis de effectibus Arsenici in varios Organismos,
nec non de Indicus quibusdam Veneficii ab Arsenicoillati. Quam præside
_C. F. Kielmayer_ publicé defendet, Jan. 1808, Auctor _Georg_: _Fred_:
_Jäeger_, Stuttgardianus. A very full analysis of this Essay was
published by Dr. _Siegwart_ in _Gehlen’s_ Chemical and Physical
Journal; and which afterwards found its way into the Edinburgh Medical
and Surgical Journal, no. xxv, Jan. 1811.

Footnote 195:

Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, no. XX.

Footnote 196:

Epist. lix, 3.

Footnote 197:

_Patrick Ogilvy_ and _Catharine Nairne_ were indicted for incest, and
the murder, by Arsenic, of _Thomas Ogilvy_, brother of the said
_Patrick_, and husband of the said _Nairne_. This celebrated Scotch
trial commenced at Edinburgh, on Monday the 12th of August at seven in
the morning, and the court continued setting until about two on
Tuesday morning, when the Jury being inclosed, it adjourned until
Wednesday at four o’clock in the afternoon. They were both found
guilty. After several respites _Ogilvy_ was executed. _Nairne_ escaped
from prison, and was never afterwards heard of.

Footnote 198:

Camp: Elys:

Footnote 199:

Edinb. Med. and Surg. Journ. no. xvii.

Footnote 200:

Ibid. no. xxvi.

Footnote 201:

Ibid. no. lxxi, for April, 1822.

Footnote 202:

_Mr. Marshall_, in his account of the symptoms of _Mr. Robert Turner_,
who was poisoned by _Eliza Fenning_, states, “On examination I
discovered a very remarkable irregularity of surface, occasioned by
the spasmodic contractions of the muscles of the abdomen, and even of
the viscera; this unevenness extended from the epigastric region to
the pubes, and to the right and left hypochondrium.”

Footnote 203:

Nothing can be more strikingly illustrative of the characteristic
appearances which distinguish the effects of violence during life,
from those which result from putrefaction as described at page 181.

Footnote 204:

The author refers the reader to the first volume of his
_Pharmacologia_, page 124, _note_. In addition to what he has there
observed it may be stated, that many fallacies have arisen in
pharmacology, from deducing conclusions respecting the effects of
remedies upon inferior animals. One example will suffice.—Several
substances have gained the reputation of Styptics, from the effects
which have followed their application to the wounded and bleeding
vessels in the extremities of the horse and ass; whereas the fact is
that the blood-vessels of these animals possess a power of contraction
which does not exist in those of man, and to which the cessation of
the hemorrhage, fallaciously attributed to the styptic, is to be
wholly attributed.

Footnote 205:

See Appendix, page 272.

Footnote 206:

Toxocologie Générale considérée, sous les Rapports de la Physiologie,
de la Pathologie, et de la Medicine légale. Paris, 1815. This work has
been faithfully translated into English by _John Walker_, in two
volumes. London, 1817.

Footnote 207:

De Sed. et Caus. Morb. per Anat. indag. Epist. 59, 18.

Footnote 208:

See the interesting trial of _Michael Whiting_, for administering
poison to _George_ and _Joseph Langman_, of Downham, in the Isle of
Ely, at the Assizes holden at Ely on Wednesday, March 4th, 1822,
before _Edward Christian, Esq._ Chief Justice of the Isle. The
prisoner was convicted and executed.

Footnote 209:

M. R. S. T. iv, P. iii, p. 278.

Footnote 210:

“Nous adoptons la division suivante, en six classes, de tous les
poisons connus, et de toutes les manières possibles par lesquelles
les substances vénéneuses peuvent nuire au corps humain:
POISONS SEPTIQUES—Poisons STUPEFIANS, ou NARCOTIQUES—Poisons
NARCOTICO-ACRES—Poisons ACRES, ou RUBEFIANS—Poisons CORROSIFS, ou
ESCAROTIQUES—Poisons ASTRINGENS.”

Footnote 211:

_Belloc_ surmises that where acrid poisons have been administered,
narcotics may have been taken to relieve pain; and thus that a sort of
combination of the symptoms of both classes may be produced.

Footnote 212:

PHARMACOLOGIA. Edit. 5th, vol. i, page 225, c. _Antidotes_.

Footnote 213:

Journal de Physiologie Experimentale, (1er numero Janvier 1821.)

Footnote 214:

The adoption of this term led to a very extraordinary error in
medicine—the application of Arsenic in the form of vapour, together
with the fumes of frankincense, myrrh, and other gums, in a paroxysm
of Asthma! This frightful practice arose from confounding the gum
Juniper, or Vernix of the Arabians, which by their medical writers was
prescribed in fumigations, under the name of Sandarach, for the
Σανδαρακη of the Greeks.

Footnote 215:

_Orfila._ Toxicolog. General.

Footnote 216:

Pharmacologia, edit. v, vol. 2, art. _Arsenici Oxydum_.

Footnote 217:

A very large quantity is annually prepared from the sublimate which
collects in the chimneys and flues of the smelting works and burning
houses in Cornwall. We have examined samples prepared according to the
improved process of Dr. _Edwards_, and found them to be perfectly free
from foreign admixture: a fact of much greater importance than the
reader may at first imagine. Those who require farther information
upon this subject may consult a paper in the first volume of the
_Transactions of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall_, by J. H.
VIVIAN, Esq. entitled “_Observations on the processes for making the
different preparations of Arsenic, which are practised in Saxony_.”

Footnote 218:

_Bergman_ ii, 286. We are, however, upon the authority of _Mr. Richard
Phillips_, inclined to consider this statement of its specific gravity
incorrect. He found that when transparent it did not exceed 3·715,
and, when opaque, 3·260.

Footnote 219:

Vol. ii, p. 86.

Footnote 220:

The chemist may satisfy himself of this fact by heating some arsenious
acid on a piece of platina foil, and then alternately raising and
depressing it into the blue flame of the spirit, when corresponding
changes in odour will take place in the fumes.

Footnote 221:

See page 184, Note.

Footnote 222:

See _Mr. Marshall’s_ Remarks, &c.

Footnote 223:

See the case reported by _Dr. Yelloly_, in the 5th volume of the
Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal.

Footnote 224:

Epist. 168.

Footnote 225:

De Pest. Hist. 99. Annot.

Footnote 226:

De Peste Lond. p. 239.

Footnote 227:

Recueil Periodique de la Societé de Med. de Paris, tom. vi. p. 22.

Footnote 228:

Nouveaux Elemens de Med. operat. par _J. P. Roux_.

Footnote 229:

Nouvelles Experiences sur les Contre-Poisons de l’Arsenic. Par
_Casimir Renault_. A. Paris. A. 9, pp. 119.

Footnote 230:

A belief in this mode of poisoning appears to be of very ancient
origin. CALPURNIUS BESTIA was said by _Pliny_ (Hist. Nat. Lib. 27.
Cap. 2.) to have been particularly skilled in such a process, and to
have murdered many of his wives when asleep, by bathing the parts of
generation with the juice of Aconite; and Dr. _Gordon Smith_, in his
work on Forensic Medicine, relates, on the authority of _Schenckius_,
the tragical death of _Ladislas_, or _Lancelot_, surnamed the
Victorious and the Liberal, who succeeded to the contested throne of
Naples in 1386, and died at the age of thirty-eight in great pain, in
consequence of having been poisoned by the daughter of a physician, of
whom he was passionately fond, _per concubitum_. Sir _Thomas Brown_,
in his _Vulgar Errors_, alludes to an ancient story of an “Indian king
that sent unto _Alexander_ a fair woman, _fed with Aconites_, and
other poisons, with the intent that she either by converse or
_copulation_ might destroy him.”

Footnote 231:

See page 137.

Footnote 232:

_Philosophical Transactions._ 1811.

Footnote 233:

M. _Orfila_ observes that there are many cases of poisoning by
arsenious acid introduced into the stomach, in which we are unable to
discover the slightest appearance of erosion or inflammation in the
alimentary canal; such cases are recorded by _Chaussier_, _Etmuller_,
_Marc_, _Sallin_, and _Renault_.

Footnote 234:

We well remember performing some experiments at Cambridge, many years
ago, upon mildew, which as far as they went corroborate this assertion
of _Jaegar_, for its propagation was not prevented by arsenic. See
also “The effects of Arsenical fumes,” vol. I, p. 332.

Footnote 235:

See Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journ. for January 1, 1811.

Footnote 236:

Elements of Juridical Medicine, p. 76.

Footnote 237:

Prestwich on Poisons.

Footnote 238:

Pharmacologia, Edit. 5. vol. ii. p. 89.

Footnote 239:

Medical Transactions, vol. vi, p. 414.

Footnote 240:

See Appendix, page 277.

Footnote 241:

This substance may be said to consist of Charcoal, in a state of
extremely minute division, and the sub-carbonate of Potass. It is
prepared by deflagrating, in a crucible, two parts of Super-tartrate
of Potass with one part of Nitrate of Potass.

Footnote 242:

In order to close the end of the tube, where a blow-pipe is not to be
procured, (which, says _Dr. Bostock_, we may suppose upon these
occasions will often be the case) the end is to be placed in a common
fire until it is completely softened, and a pair of small tongs being
at the same time made red hot, the tube is to be withdrawn from the
fire, and the heated end pinched by the tongs, and at the same time
bent up at an acute angle, so as to be brought parallel to the body of
the tube. The tube is then to be heated a second time, and being again
firmly pinched by the hot tongs, the end will be found to be
completely impervious.

Footnote 243:

_Dr. Bostock_ states that the best proportions for this coating are,
one part of common pipe clay, to three parts of fine sand; which are
to be well kneeded together, and reduced to such a state of tenacity,
that the lute will readily adhere to the tube, and its different parts
unite without forming a visible seam. “_Observations on the different
methods recommended for detecting minute portions of Arsenic, by J.
Bostock, M.D._” Read before the Liverpool Medical Society, and
published in the Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journ. April, 1809.

Footnote 244:

See the paper above quoted.

Footnote 245:

_Black’s_ Lectures, v. ii, p. 430.

Footnote 246:

_Foderé_ recommends this process, _Traité de Med. Leg._ t. iv, p. 153;
and Dr. Jaeger, in his Thesis, before quoted, observes that he has
been enabled to recognise the tenth of a grain of arsenious acid,
although mixed with sugar, by its odour, when thrown upon burning
coals! We must be allowed to question this fact; Dr. Jaeger, no doubt,
believed that he recognised the alliaceous odour, but it must have
been the sole effect of the imagination. Dr. Bostock states that such
a test is not to be depended upon; for, unless the arsenic be in
considerable quantity, the odour is not sufficiently perceptible; and
if it be mixed with either an animal or a vegetable substance, the
smoke and smell arising from these bodies, when heated, will
altogether prevent our recognising the peculiar odour of the arsenic.
When a quantity of arsenic is mixed with an equal weight of flour, and
placed upon iron at a low red heat, so as not to cause the flour to
inflame, the suffocating smoke that arises from the latter can be
alone perceived; nor is it possible to discover that any thing has
been mixed with it. _Edinb. Med. Journ._ _l. c._ This last objection
of Dr. Bostock is true in fact, although it admits of a different
explanation, for at a low temperature the arsenious acid will be
volatilized _without decomposition_; in which case no alliaceous odour
can be developed.

Footnote 247:

The paper was read before the Liverpool Medical Society.

Footnote 248:

London Dispensatory. Edit. 3, p. 176.

Footnote 249:

See a letter from _Mr. Hume_ on the subject, to the Editors of the
Medical and Physical Journal. July, 1810.

Footnote 250:

On the detection of very minute quantities of Arsenic and Mercury. By
_James Smithson_, Esq. F.R.S. _Annals of Philosophy_, August, 1822.

Footnote 251:

If any trifling opacity occur in a simple solution of arsenic, when
assayed by the nitrate of silver, it may be considered as the effects
of some casual impurity; this may be farther demonstrated by bringing
over the surface of the arsenical liquid, a piece of blotting paper,
or a stopper moistened with a solution of ammonia, when there will
instantly form a copious yellow precipitate of arsenite of silver. If
this experiment be performed by spreading the mixed solutions of
arsenious acid and nitrate of silver over a surface of glass, laid
upon white paper, the result will be most striking and beautiful, for
on slowly bringing the ammoniacal test over it, the yellow cloud will
gradually diffuse itself over the surface.

Footnote 252:

Pharmacologia. Edit. 5, vol. ii, p. 96.

Footnote 253:

London Medical and Physical Journal, January, 1818.

Footnote 254:

The following is the formula for its preparation. Dissolve ten grains
of _lunar caustic_, 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, repeatedly agitating the
mixture until the precipitate is nearly redissolved. The object of
allowing a small portion to remain undissolved is, to guard against an
excess of ammonia. Wherever the test is used, the liquid to which it
is added ought to be quite cold.

Footnote 255:

This is very important, for an excess of ammonia redissolves the
yellow precipitate, and therefore defeats the object of the test. The
fixed alkalies, in excess, have not such a property.

Footnote 256:

The great impression made upon the public mind in Cornwall by the
above trial, produced a disposition to regard every sudden death with
more than usual jealousy. In consequence, therefore, of a report
having arisen that a young woman had died after an illness of
forty-eight hours, and been hastily buried at Madron, near Penzance,
the magistrates of that district issued their warrant for the
disinterment of the body, and requested the author’s attendance at the
examination. The dissection was accordingly conducted in the church,
when it appeared that the immediate cause of death had been an
inflammation of the intestines; the stomach was found to contain a
considerable portion of liquid, which was carefully collected and
examined; no solid matter could be discovered in it, nor were any
particles found to be adhering to the coats of the stomach. The fluid
appeared to consist principally of the remains of a quantity of
pennyroyal tea, which had been the last thing administered to the
deceased. This was divided into several distinct portions, and placed
in separate wine glasses, and submitted, in the presence of the High
Sheriff, and some other gentlemen whose curiosity had been excited by
the late trial of _Donnall_, to a series of experiments, amongst which
the following may be particularized, as bearing upon the present
question, and as affording an important elucidation of it.

A few drops of a solution of _sub-carbonate of potass_ were added to
the liquid, in one of the glasses, when its colour, which was
originally of a light hazel, was instantly deepened into a reddish
yellow; the sulphate of copper was then applied, when a precipitate
fell down, which every one present simultaneously pronounced to be of
a “_vivid grass green_” hue; but, on pouring off the supernatant
liquid, and transferring the precipitate upon a sheet of white paper,
it assumed the blue colour which is so characteristic of the
_carbonate of copper_. The explanation of the phenomenon, and the
fallacy to which it gave rise, became obvious; the yellow colour
imparted to the liquid by the alkali, was the effect of the latter
body upon the vegetable extractive matter of the infusion. The other
portions were then strictly examined, but no indications of arsenic or
any other metallic poison were discovered.

Footnote 257:

This explanation applies equally to the objection lately advanced by
_Dr. Porter_, of the University of South Carolina, who, in his
observations on the tests of arsenic, remarks, that an appearance
similar to “_Scheele’s Green_,” is produced by the carbonate of
potass, when added to a solution of the sulphate of copper in coffee,
but without arsenic, more striking than if even a weak solution of
arsenic were used. _Silliman’s Journal_, iii. 865.

FODERE reports a case, in which an erroneous conclusion respecting the
presence of arsenic was drawn, evidently owing to the same source of
fallacy. The Society of Medicine at Marseilles, in consequence of a
girl having been poisoned by a quack medicine, appointed a scientific
person to examine the composition of the _Nostrum_; this person,
strongly prepossessed with the opinion that it contained arsenic,
applied the _copper test_ above described, and having obtained by
means of it, a _green precipitate_, reported, without any further
inquiry, that the medicine in question was an arsenical solution.
_Foderé_, however, suspected the correctness of the conclusion, in
consequence of the residue not yielding by combustion, any alliaceous
odour; a new analysis was therefore made, which proved the nostrum to
be nothing more than a very strong alcoholic tincture of colocynth.
_Médecine Légale, tom. iv. p._ 137.

Footnote 258:

It is hardly necessary to observe that neither the carbonate of
ammonia or of potass, or sulphuric or muriatic acid, produce any
effect whatever in a pure solution of white arsenic.

Footnote 259:

Corrosive sublimate, however, produces both these effects, from causes
which we have fully explained under the consideration of that poison.

Footnote 260:

_Toxicologie Générale_, supra citat.

Footnote 261:

See _Leçons de Médecine Légale_, a Paris, 1821. “Experiences chimiques
propres à decouvrir les poisons minéraux qui ont été mêlés avec du
thé, du café, du vin, ete.” _Trente-unieme Leçon._ _p._ 415.

Footnote 262:

Chirurg. Med. p. 185.

Footnote 263:

The _arsenite of potass_, which has been long known under the name of
the “_arsenical salt of Macquer_” has been used in medicine, and the
Dublin Pharmacopœia contains a process for the preparation of
“_arsenias kali_.”

Footnote 264:

Nouvelles Experiences, &c., op. sup. cit.

Footnote 265:

Opera Omnia de Venenis, 1761.

Footnote 266:

Υδραργυρος of the Greeks from its fluidity and colour. Quicksilver.
_Quick_, in the old Saxon tongue signified living: an epithet derived
from its mobility.

Footnote 267:

_Cavendish._

Footnote 268:

_Hassenfratz_ Ann. de Chim. xxviii, 12.

Footnote 269:

Hence it was called by the alchymists the _Dragon_.

Footnote 270:

_Mead_ on Poisons, edit. 4, p. 196.

Footnote 271:

Second edition, p. 89.

Footnote 272:

For the report of the above satisfactory case we are indebted to _Dr.
Gordon Smith_, who has related it in his work on Forensic Medicine, p.
114.

Footnote 273:

Edit. 5, vol. 1, p. 260.

Footnote 274:

“Further experiments and observations on the action of Poisons on the
animal system.” Phil. Trans. 1812.

Footnote 275:

For a history of the different quack medicines which contain mercury,
see Pharmacologia, vol. ii, p. 239.

Footnote 276:

Opera Medica. Epist. i, p. 200.

Footnote 277:

Contre-poisons de l’Arsenic, du sublimé corrosif, &c.

Footnote 278:

Proposed by _M. Duval_, “Dissertation sur la Toxicologie.”

Footnote 279:

_M. Chausarel._ “Observations sur diverses substances Vénéneuses,” p.
47.

Footnote 280:

We find in an ancient epigram of Ausonius, that a woman gave to her
husband some metallic mercury, with the design of increasing the
energy of a certain poison, which she administered to him. But instead
of producing this effect, the mercury, on the contrary, entirely
re-established the health of the person poisoned. The celebrated
_Goethe_ upon asking the Professor _Doebereiner_ of Jena, his opinion
upon the above case, received in reply, that the poison must have been
corrosive sublimate, since, of all the known poisons, it was the only
one whose power was weakened by mercury.

This story induced _Orfila_ to ascertain the truth by experiment, and
he has shewn THAT METALLIC MERCURY IS NOT AN ANTIDOTE TO CORROSIVE
SUBLIMATE.

Footnote 281:

_Mr. Hart._ “What did you do with the flour and pork?

_C. Carter._ I made it into four dumplings, two with pork, and two
without, and tied the two largest, with pork in them, up in bags.

---- With what did you mix the flour?

---- With milk.

---- When you were making these dumplings, did you observe any thing?

---- They made different to any thing which I had ever made before.

---- Explain that difference?

---- They broke and crumbled all into little bits. I had to knock them
in a stant like when we make butter. They would not hold together.

---- Had you more or less difficulty than usual?

---- More trouble than I ever had before.”

_Extract from the trial._

Footnote 282:

We have been informed that, by this simple and beautiful test, Mr.
Archdeacon _Wollaston_ identified the presence of corrosive sublimate
in the dumplings by which _Michael Whiting_ attempted to poison his
brothers-in-law, at Ely, as stated in the preceding page, as well as
at 197. Although in the report of the trial in our possession, the
professor does not appear to have furnished the court with any account
of the process by which he discovered the poison.

Footnote 283:

Trial of Mary _Bateman_ for the wilful murder of _Rebecca Perigo_, at
the York Assizes, 1809. As we have on several occasions alluded to
this trial, it may perhaps be satisfactory to give a short sketch of
the case in this place.

This diabolical woman, under the pretext of possessing the art of
witchcraft, committed numerous frauds, and worked with so much success
upon the credulity of her victims, as to obtain considerable sums of
money, and reduce them to the extremes of poverty; while, in order to
conceal the frauds, she consigned whole families to the grave by her
poisons. Her detection was brought about by the robbery of a family of
the name of _Perigo_, from whom she obtained the sum of seventy
pounds, besides cloathes and furniture, under the pretence of engaging
a Miss _Blythe_ to relieve _Perigo’s_ wife from the effects of an
“evil wish,” under which she was supposed to labour; when the
appointed time arrived for the restoration of the property, and the
promised cure of the wife, _Mary Bateman_ sent a powder (_Arsenic_)
which she directed them to add to their pudding, and advised them,
should they be ill after eating it, to take a spoonful of prepared
honey with which she supplied them. The wife ate the pudding, and soon
afterwards died; the husband, however, very narrowly escaped: for this
murder she was tried and convicted; and thus was a system of robbery
and murder, scarcely equalled in the annals of crime, happily exposed
and ended.

Footnote 284:

In the Philosophical Magazine for December, 1821, a communication is
to be found from a Mr. _Murray_, which would have been too ridiculous
to require notice, had it not involved a question connected with the
habitudes of corrosive sublimate and iron, which might possibly
occasion error. After stating that certain metallic solutions may be
decomposed through the agency of magnetism, he says, a solution of
corrosive sublimate may be thus made to yield metallic mercury, by
introducing into it a bar of magnetised iron! He had not the wit to
inquire whether unmagnetised iron might not prove equally powerful as
a decomposing agent.

Footnote 285:

_Orfila_, l. c.

Footnote 286:

_Orfila_, l. c.

Footnote 287:

Edinburgh Med. & Surg. Journal, v.

Footnote 288:

Ann. de Chimie et Phys. iv. 334.

Footnote 289:

Tartarized Antimony, administered as an emetic, may decompose the salt
in the stomach.

Footnote 290:

Consultation Medico-legale sur une Accusation de l’empoisonnement par
le _Muriate de Mercure sur-oxydé_. p. 146.

Footnote 291:

L. C.

Footnote 292:

The above passage is quoted from _Waller’s_ translation of _Orfila’s_
Treatise on Poisons, vol. i, p. 73.

Footnote 293:

Comment: Med. in Processus Criminales.

Footnote 294:

Principles of Forensic Medicine, p. 113.

Footnote 295:

_Accum_ on culinary poisons, or “Death in the Pot.” As this is the
last occasion which we shall have to mention the above work, we may
observe by the way, that this _ad captandum_ title is not original
with _Mr. Accum_, for there is a dissertation by _Mauchart_, entitled
“MORS IN OLLA.”

Footnote 296:

Many of the preparations lately presented by _Dr. Baillie_ to the
College of Physicians have become black, in consequence of the
vermilion, with which they are injected, having been adulterated with
red lead.

Footnote 297:

Upon this subject, the reader may consult the Historical Introduction
to the Pharmacologia, page 87.

Footnote 298:

Annal. de Chem. xxxii. 255.

Footnote 299:

We have upon this, as well as on similar occasions, preferred adopting
the name by which the substance is known in common parlance, to that
which might more strictly accord with our scientific views of its
composition.

Footnote 300:

Pharmacologia, Edit. v. vol. 2. p. 65.

Footnote 301:

F. Hoffmanni Op. om. T. 1. par. ii. c. v. p. 219.

Footnote 302:

This subject is treated very copiously in the first volume of the
Pharmacologia, page 152. To this work the author must refer the
reader, for the limits of the present volume will not allow more than
a mere enunciation of the fact.

Footnote 303:

Elements of Juridical Medicine, edit. 2, p. 96.

Footnote 304:

“Further experiments and observations on the Action of Poisons on the
Animal system, by _B. C. Brodie, Esq._ F. R. S. Communicated to the
Society for the improvement of Animal Chemistry, and by them to the
Royal Society.” _Phil. Trans._ for 1812, vol. 102, p. 205.

Footnote 305:

To those who are curious upon this subject, we recommend the perusal
of an interesting essay, entitled “Observations on the Tin trade of
the Ancients in Cornwall, and on the Ictis of Diodorus Siculus,” by
Sir _Christopher Hawkins_, Bart. F.R.S. &c.

Footnote 306:

See page 144 of this volume; and article _Cupri Sulphas_ in
Pharmacologia, vol. 2, p. 167, _note_.

Footnote 307:

We have long considered that the process of salting meat is something
more than the mere saturation of the animal fibre with muriate of
soda; some unknown combinations and decompositions take place, which
future experiment will probably discover.

Footnote 308:

Water may thus be preserved in copper cisterns, without contracting
any metallic impregnation, even should the surface of the cistern be
coated with the oxide and carbonate of copper.

Footnote 309:

_Dr. Johnson_, in his Essay on Poison, relates the history of three
men being poisoned, after excruciating sufferings, in consequence of
eating food cooked in an unclean copper vessel, on board the Cyclops
frigate; and, besides these, thirty-three men became ill from the same
cause.

Footnote 310:

See the Ladies Library, vol. ii, p. 203; Modern Cookery, or the
English Housewife, edit, 2, p. 94; and the English Housekeeper, p.
352, 354.

Footnote 311:

This practice is of ancient origin, thus _Pliny_ “Stannum, illinitum
æneis vasis, saporem gratiorem facit, et compescit æruginis virus.”
Lib. xxxiv, cap. 17.

Footnote 312:

_Orfila_, l. c.

Footnote 313:

Recherches Chimiques sur l’Etain par _Bayen et Charlard_, 1781.

Footnote 314:

Annales de Chimie.

Footnote 315:

See _Thomson’s_ System of Chemistry.

Footnote 316: