186 
MISCELLANEA. 
Deaths from Carbonic Acid Gas.—On Wednesday, March 25th, a lad named 
Dewey, employed at the Lion Brewery, Southsea, mounted a forty-barrel vat, and 
while looking through the manhole in the cover lost his balance, and fell into the vat 
among a quantity of partially wet hops, when he soon fell a victim to the effects of the 
gas. The engineer of the brewery, hearing what had occurred, descended the vat by 
means of a rope-ladder, and he also became senseless. Another man, although cau¬ 
tioned not do so, ventured into the vat, and shared the fate of the others. The vat 
was then broken open, and the bodies taken out to await an inquest. 
On Friday, August 21st, an inquest was held at the Five Bells, Bromley, on George 
Briggs, aged fifty-two years. Deceased was in the employ of Currie and Co., distillers. 
He went down through a “ man-hole ” into a huge vat, for the purpose of stirring up 
the waste liquor and solids which were at the bottom. He tested, by means of a lighted 
candle, for foul gas, but found none. No sooner had he got to the bottom of the ladder, 
however, than he exclaimed, “ There is gas here and before assistance could be got 
he fell backwards, dead. Dr. Gill said the deceased must either have tested for carbonic 
gas very carelessly, or else the disturbance of the liquor upon his descending must have 
caused the gas to rise and overcome him. The jury returned a verdict of “ Accidental 
suffocation by carbonic acid gas,” and recommended that some means should be devised 
for the better ventilation of the vats in future. 
Alleged Poisoning by Arsenic.—A verdict of wilful murder has been returned 
by a coroner’s jury against Lydia Williams, of Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, who is sus¬ 
pected of having killed her husband by the administration of arsenic. The deceased was 
taken ill on April 12th and died May 24th, and the symptoms described by witnesses 
resembled those of an irritant poison. An analysis was made by Professor W. Herapath, 
of Bristol, who failed to discover arsenic ; he was, however, of opinion that “ the state 
and appearance of the various parts exhibited all the secondary effects of arsenic.” Mr. 
Herapath also stated that “ every poison has an inflammatory tint peculiar to itself. 
Phosphorus produces a bright scarlet, arsenic a deep red, oxalic acid another, and mer¬ 
cury another.” The prisoner was tried before Baron Wilde, when evidence corrobora¬ 
tive of the above was given. Mr. Herapath stated that, although he had failed to discover 
any poison in the viscera of the deceased, he had received some powders from Superinten¬ 
dent Jones, in which he had found twenty-seven grains of arsenic in sixty-three of vege¬ 
table meal. It was stated in evidence that, invariably after taking the food prepared by 
the prisoner, violent sickness was produced ; and this was not the case when the food was 
prepared by the sister of the deceased. The jury returned a verdict of “ Guilty ” of the 
intent, but not of the murder; and the prisoner was sentenced to penal servitude for life. 
Poisoning by “ Ghloroformic Anodyne.”—A case of poisoning by a new 
remedy, called “ chloroformic anodyne,” is given by' Dr. Harley in the ‘Lancet’ of July 
4th. The patient had given to her, by mistake for a black draught, six drachms of the 
anodyne. She immediately felt sick, and vomited, and in less than ten minutes after she 
had taken the medicine stupor supervened, and on the arrival of medical aid she was 
found perfectly insensible, the pupils contracted, the face livid, and the breathing ster¬ 
torous. The stomach-pump was applied, and the remainder of the poison ejected—about 
two hours after it had been swallowed. As the surface of the body was beginning to 
feel cold, artificial respiration w r as resorted to, and a pint of hot coffee, containing three 
drachms of spirit of nitric ether, was injected into the stomach. The pulse then became 
perceptible at the wrists, and the artificial respiration was discontinued, and a constant stream 
of cold water was applied to the head with great benefit, as the pulse immediately got 
quicker and stronger. The above treatment was continued for about two hours, when the 
patient was able to reply to questions ; but she remained more or less under the influence 
of the drug for fifty-four hours. The chief ingredients of the ‘chloroformic anodyne ’ are 
said to be a strong solution of opium, some chloroform, and a few drops of hydrocyanic acid. 
Accidental Poisoning by ILaudanmm.—On Tuesday, September 1st, an ad¬ 
journed inquest was held at Moxley, near Wolverhampton, before Mr. Hooper, coroner, 
on the body of John Albert Vann, aged six years. It was stated in evidence that on the 
evening of the previous Tuesday, the child complained of pain in the bowels, and his 
sister was sent to the shop of Mr. Woolley, a druggist, for a pennyworth of tincture of 
rhubarb. The medicine, about a teaspoonful, was administered, and the child put to 
