30 
OBSERVATIONS ON PREMEDITATED 
neither could we conjecture what, save something should 
turn up, could preserve the unfortunate owner (Lhoumault) 
from ruin. 
The 1st of December, a five-year-old ass, worth 2800 
francs, fell suddenly ill of the same disease of which the other 
three had died. Lhoumault, sad and in despair, came to call 
me : — “ M. Ayrault, the ass that is now sick has the same 
complaint as the others had ; he too will die poisoned, for we 
have found upon the window com mingled with white pow- 
der.” I attached but little importance to this story of 
poisoning , knowing how prone farmers are, whenever an epi- 
zootic breaks out among their cattle, to give it this interpre- 
tation. I therefore tried to dissuade Lhoumault, and set 
off immediately for Martigny. My first cares were directed to 
the ass, which, dark and gloomy, had become lightly tympani- 
tic, manifesting pain on pressure upon the belly ; with hard 
pulse ; conjunctivae and heart pulsations normal. I diagnos- 
ticated a gastro-enteritic inflammation, and ordered to begin 
with emollient clysters. Afterwards I enquired whereabouts 
the oats had been found. I was shown the window-ledge from 
which they had been carefully swept, and had been thrown 
along with the litter to the dunghill. This window opened 
to the south, and on that day the sun was darting its rays 
upon it. Thanks to this circumstance, I distinguished amongst 
the white powder, some dead lime with which the stable had 
been washed, some pearl white grains, which were brilliant 
and reflective of the sun’s rays. I called Martigny, and in his 
presence gathered up all the powder I could from between 
the roughly-joined stones supporting the window, 
M. de Martigny and myself set off for Niort, to M. Sauze’s 
pharmacien ; and there, having thrown some of the grains 
upon charcoal at a white heat, we learnt for a certainty that 
they were plainly arsenious acid. I immediately sent off to 
M. Lhoumault, 60 grammes of protoxyde of iron to be 
administered to the ass, and at the same time prescribed 
numerous emollient drinks made of decoction of linseed. 
I accompanied M. de Martigny to the juge d? instruction, 
at whose house we left the paper containing the substance 
found in the window, and he at the same time received the 
complaint from M. Martigny. The next day the ass was 
much the same. The mucilaginous treatment was continued, 
until, at the end of sixteen days, he commenced showing gaiety 
again, though he was not completely recovered before the 
thirtieth day. 
Inquiry proved to no purpose. The miscreant w r ho did the 
deed could not be discovered, notwithstanding Lhoumault 
