325 
MISCELLANEA. 
Antimonial Poisoning.—A curious case of antimonial poisoning has been under 
investigation at Melbourne. One Bellemey was an assistant at a shop of Mr. De Barr, 
chemist, Goulburn, New South Wales. Mrs. De Barr, a woman of very intemperate 
habits, eloped with him in August, 1866, carrying a considerable sum of money with 
her. The pair arrived in Melbourne in September under the name of Barnett, and 
passed as man and wife. On shipboard Mrs. Barnett had been attacked with severe 
vomiting which continued even after landing. She was attended by Mr. Beaney, who 
was called in by the prisoner to see her, and she was somewhat relieved. The same 
symptoms, however, again manifested themselves, and seemed utterly inexplicable to 
Mr. Beaney, though Dr. Turnbull, who was called in at this juncture, attributed them 
to excessive drinking. The woman continued to get worse and waste away gradually, 
and was confined to her bed. Mr. Beaney then called to his assistance Drs. Brownless 
and Girdlestone. They concurred in attributing the disease to antimonial poisoning, 
and by their direction a hired nurse was engaged to attend her, the prisoner being 
directed not to give her anything. Under this treatment she recovered a little, and was 
then taken to other lodgings; hut two or three days after Barnett (or Bellemey) 
dismissed the nurse, on the score of the expense she caused, and of being of no use. 
On July 24 (Mr. De Barr having died in the meantime) Bellemey and Mrs. Barnett 
were married—the marriage having taken place at the solicitation of the other lodgers 
in the place. On August 3 Mrs. Bellemey died, and a post-mortem examination 
discovered large quantities of antimonj r in many organs of the body. To meet the 
case launched against him, it was proved for the prisoner that the woman was a great 
drunkard; that she had been seen habitually to take pinches from a bottle labelled 
tartar emetic ; that a few weeks before her death she took daily a number of seidlitz 
powders. It was shown that the cheaper descriptions of these poioders contained anti¬ 
mony ; and that these powders and the emetic are frequently taken to relieve the effects 
of drunkenness. The jury acquitted the prisoner, and, it is said, that whatever suspi¬ 
cions may have been entertained at first, and are still held by some, the greater number 
of those who heard the evidence believed in the man’s innocence.— Medical Times and 
Gazette. 
Accidental Poisoning 1 by Laudanum.—An old man in Manchester, named 
O’Brien, suffering from bronchitis, obtained an order on a dispensary for a mixture 
composed of laudanum and ipecacuanha. Having swallowed a dose of it, he found 
himself so much relieved that he drank off the entire contents of the bottle, on the 
supposition that the more of the medicine he took the better he should be. He was 
found dead in his bed the next morning with the empty bottle in his hand. At the 
coroner’s inquest the jury censured the dispenser for giving out medicines unaccompa¬ 
nied by written directions as to the quantity. 
Test for the Presence of a Free Acid.—Mr. E. Smith, Nottingham, gives 
the following in the ‘ Chemical News ’ of March 13:—“ Dissolve chloride of silver in 
just sufficient ammonia to make a clear solution. If a little of test be added to ordinary 
spring water, the carbonic acid present in the latter will neutralize the ammonia, and 
precipitate the chloride. The above forms a good lecture experiment, the test being a 
very delicate one.” 
Poisoning by Vermin Powder.—An inquest has been held at Bristol, on the 
body of Sarah Ann Grundy, who died suddenly, the symptoms observed being those of 
poisoning by strychnia, and, in consequence of some rumours, a post mortem examination 
of the body was made, and the contents of the stomach were analysed by Dr. Herapath, 
who found Prussian blue, starch, and strychnia; from this it was inferred that death 
had been caused by taking vermin powder mixed with water, but as there was no evi¬ 
dence to show by whom, or for what purpose the poison was administered, an open 
verdict was returned. The Coroner commented on the fact, that while restrictions were 
placed on the sale of strychnia and other poisons, these so-called vermin powders, each 
packet of which contained sufficient poison to kill three persons, were sold indiscrimi¬ 
nately. 
Suicide by Prussic Acid.—We record a painful case of suicide which occurred 
