April, 1882. 
THE CHEMIST AND DRUGGIST. 
95 
shop-boy, he gave him a paper with the name of the required 
article written on it, and desired him to go to a well-known 
establishment in Oxford-street for the same. As the sender 
did not mention what the peach-water was for, and the 
messenger could give no information, the assistant, thinking 
it was for flavouring, sent the essence of bitter almonds. 
When the boy got back with the bottle, the sender, who was 
waiting for it, completed his task by filling up, without in any- 
way testing, or even tasting, the liquid, which had been 
supplied. The result may be guessed. The young lady died 
shortly after the first dose, a victim to cupidity on one part 
and stupidity on the other. 
I am not aware whether any punishment was meted out to 
either doctor or chemist ; but the former, as almost a matter 
of course, lost his practice and the name of Cronin, once 
famous was heard no more. He disappeared from London, 
and probably from England, to die in obscurity. 
“Farewell, Farewell to the Dear Old Land, 
Hurrah, Hurrah for the New !” 
If any one had told me at the time of TawelTs execution 
that it was probable that I should ever stand behind the 
counter in the very shop in which that notorious criminal had 
made his (to use a colonialism) pile, I should have given them 
very little credit for skill in fortune-telling. Yet this event 
did actually come to pass in the year 1853 ; but of this anon. 
Chemists in this colony, and those at the present day at home, 
know nothing, except by hearsay, of the direful drudgery 
which was the lot of those whose business it was to minister 
as assistants in chemists’ shops to the wants of those who 
suffered from any of the numerous ills to which humanity is 
heir. From earliest dawn to the latest hour of the night it 
was one continued round of toil. They were not allowed to 
sit down until the principal lights were turned out, at ten 
o’clock, and not even then until every drawer was filled to reple- 
tion with pennyworths of sticking-plaster, salts, magnesia, or 
rhubarb, as the case might be ; they were not allowed at any 
time during the long, long day to go to the door for a breath 
of fresh air, lest it should be thought by passers-by that there 
was a moment in the sixteen hours when the shop was without 
a customer. Not one holiday, or even half a one, from one 
year’s end to another ; two or three hours every alternate 
Sunday being about the amount of relaxation considered 
necessary for a chemist’s assistant in enlightened, anti-slavery 
England in the middle portion of the nineteenth century. 
I am afraid that my brother chemists in this land of freedom 
will think that I am drawing an exaggerated picture of the 
miseries of an assistant pharmacist in olden days. If they do 
so, all I can say is that their lot was a happier one than mine. 
I am writing my own reminiscences. 
This kind of life (irksome enough, no doubt, to all subordi- 
nates in the drug business) was particularly unsuited to my 
taste, which inclined in a remarkable degree to out-door 
exercise, and I yearned for adventure by sea and land ; for, as 
a boy, I had devoured Crusoe , admired Mungo Park, and 
perused Campbell’s Travels in Africa , until I fear they were 
more familiar to me than my “ catechism.” 
With such tastes and aspirations, it will not be wondered 
that the land of my birth became distasteful to me, or that I 
came to the determination to turn my back on it, and set my 
face towards other lands, where I could earn my bread literally 
by the sweat of my brow in wild and untried regions under a 
sunny sky. 
( To be continued l^) 
PHARMACEUTICAL NOTES. 
(By Robert F. Fairthorne, Ph.G.) 
Unguentum Aqu^e Ros^e. — The ointment of rose-water of the 
United States Pharmacopoeia, prepared according to the direc- 
tions given in that work, is, in most respects, justly regarded as 
a satisfactory preparation. It is not, however, entirely unobjec- 
tionable, and the directions can be so modified that those 
engaged in the manufacture of it will be assisted thereby. The 
length of time required to produce an ointment such as the 
apothecary desires is often quite a serious tax upon his 
patience, and in order to lessen this I would recommend it to 
be made in the following manner : — All the ingredients 
employed are put into a wide-mouthed bottle, placed in a hot- 
water bath, and allowed to remain until the solid portion is 
melted, then the bottle is taken out, and, having tightly 
corked or stoppered it, the mixture is thoroughly shaken ; a 
uniform emulsion will result, which is to be agitated until 
solid. 
The resulting ointment will be found smoother and more 
uniform than that produced by stirring, and the operator will 
find less exertion required, and will have also the advantage 
of knowing exactly the right moment when it is proper to stop 
agitation by solidification taking place. If in making it, 
three times the quantity of the ingredients ordered by the 
Pharmacopoeia are used, an ordinary preserving jar, with a 
cover that screws on, will be found a very convenient vessel 
to use. 
Cold Cream, and a Cheap Substitute for Oil of 
Almond. — One of the objections to the rose-water ointment 
of the Pharmacopoeia is its unstable character. It seldom 
remains in good condition more than two weeks, by which 
time in many cases it will be found rancid and the rose-water 
often separated in globules, giving it an unsightly appearance. 
For these reasons it has been customary amongst the druggists 
to make a substitute for it which is called cold cream, either 
with much less rose-water or without any, or by substituting 
a small amount of glycerine for it. 
The use, however, of oil of sweet almonds has been almost 
universally retained. This oil is certainly unobjectionable, 
but can be replaced in making the unofficinal ointment by a 
much cheaper one, which is sold by the wholesale druggists 
under the name of nut-oil. This is obtainable at about one- 
fourth the price of the former, to which it bears a very close 
resemblance in colour, odour, and other characteristics I have 
used it, and found it quite satisfactory, and offer the following 
formula to those who would like to try it 
Take of Nut-oil 
Spermaceti . 
White wax 
Rose-water .. 
Oil of rose 
lb. avoirdupois 
3 oz. „ 
If oz. „ 
\ OZ. „ 
18 drops 
Make an ointment in the same manner as suggested above. 
If a very white cold cream is desired, the addition of 25 grains 
of borax will produce it. 
In this place I would remark that all, or nearly all, the 
ointments and cerates of the Pharmacopoeia can be advan- 
tageously made by agitation, and more expeditiously than by 
the ordinary method. 
A Solid Glycerine Preparation.— The very extensive 
application of glycerine renders it desirable to present it in 
many different forms, and two very convenient ones will be 
produced by the following formulas 
Take of French gelatine ... ... 120 grains 
Glycerine... ... ... fl. oz. 
Water ... ... ... |fl. oz. 
Cut up the gelatine in small pieces, and, having added it to 
the water in a wide-mouthed vial, melt it by means of a 
water bath, then add the glycerine, which must be warmed ; 
shake the mixture, pour into moulds, and keep in a cool place 
until solid. It can then be taken out and wrapped in either 
tin-foil or waxed paper. This makes a clear, elegant, ice-like 
preparation, and can be applied to the skin, which should be 
previously moistened with water. If used for toilet purposes, 
a drop of oil of rose can be added whilst the ingredients are 
fluid. 
An article having more resemblance to a cerate, or to stick 
pomade, in which glycerine predominates, can be made by 
taking — 
French gelatine ... ... 100 grains 
Starch ... ... ... 50 „ 
Glycerine ... ... ... 12 fluid drachms 
Water ... ... ... 4 ,, 
Add the gelatine to the water, and proceed as in the other 
receipt. Rub up the starch with the glycerine, and having 
heated the mixture on a sand-bath in a capsule, with constant 
stirring until it becomes translucent through the starch 
dissolving, add the solution of gelatine to it, and pour into 
moulds. If for toilet purposes, it can be perfumed and 
moulded of a cylindrical form by pouring it into wide glass 
tubes closed at the bottom with corks. In order to remove it 
from them, take out the cork, and, having warmed the tube 
by pouring a little hob water over it, blow through the tube, 
when the solidified gelatine will fall out. This is placed on a 
sheet of glass, and kept cool until the outside has become 
solid. This can be applied to the skin without previous 
wetting, and has a singular cerate-like consistence . — American 
Journal of Pharmacy. 
Syrups for Soda Water — Orange and Lemon.— Very 
superior syrups can be made in the following manner : — Take 
the peels of six oranges or lemons ; cut them very thin ; make 
a tincture of them by macerating in 6 fluid ounces of alcohol 
