78 Mr. Home's Account of the Case of a Man , 
the inside of the arm below the axilla, and near the elbow', 
vesications had formed ; and under each of the vesication s 
there was a red spot in the cutis, of the size of a crown piece. 
The skin generally over the body had become warm. He 
was low and depressed ; there was a tremulous motion of his 
lips, and the faintings recurred at nearly the same intervals as 
in the preceding evening. The last dose of medicine was re- 
jected by vomiting, but some warm wine remained on his 
stomach. The arm was fomented. At twelve o’clock, in 
addition to the above symptoms, there was a starting of his 
limbs. He had attempted to take some broth, but his stomach 
did not retain it. The skin of the whole arm had a livid ap- 
pearance, similar to what is met with in a dead body, when 
putrefaction has begun to take place, unlike anything which I 
had ever seen in so large a portion of the living body. An 
obscure fluctuation was felt under the skin of the outside of 
the wrist and forearm, which induced me to make a puncture 
with a lancet, but only a small portion of a serous fluid was dis- 
charged. My colleague, Dr. Nevinson, was present at this 
visit, and we agreed to continue the internal use of the volatile 
alkali, with the view of rousing the stomach to action, not con- 
sidering it as having any specific power over the poison. At 
eleven o’clock in the evening, finding that his stomach did not 
always retain the medicines, nor even small quantities of 
brandy, which were given him, I directed the volatile alkali to 
be left off, and two grains of opium to be given, and repeated 
every four hours. At this time his pulse was scarcely percep- 
tible at the wrist, the fainting fits were not less frequent. The 
vesications and red spots were increased in size. 
October 19. At nine o’clock in the morning his pulse was 
