250 ON ANIMAL AND 



The man staggered a few steps and then with- 

 out a groan fell upon his knees, and sunk to the 

 ground. A physician being sent for, found him 

 quite lifeless, and without the least traces of 

 pulse or breathing ; and though in a few minutes 

 afterwards, slight expirations with convulsive 

 motions about the chest were observable, yet 

 the vital spark was evidently extinguished in a 

 very short time after his taken the poison. In 

 this case, as in the other, every part of the body, 

 omitted a very strong odour of bitter almonds, 

 which discovered at once the nature of the liquor 

 that had been swallowed, and which odour, du- 

 ring the dissection, was almost too powerful for 

 the operator to bear. Another instance of poison- 

 ing by the prussic acid, is mentioned by Orfila, 

 when a girl took a small quantity of it, and fell 

 dead as if struck by apoplexy. 



From the above well attested facts ,we may 

 conclude, that the prussic acid is the most prompt 

 and the most active of all the poisons hitherto 

 discovered. It however fortunately happens, 

 that accidents cannot occur very frequently, 

 since its use is confined principally to practical 

 chemists, to whom it affords some valuable tests, 

 and to a few medical men only, who are now 

 administering it diluted in the most cautious man- 

 ner, as a remedy for some very obstinate diseases; 

 the results of which have hardly yet been suffi- 

 cient to introduce it into general practice. 



