BOOKS RECEIVED. 
283 
was then removed in a cab' to the hospital, where Mr. J. N. Moore, one of the house- 
surgeons, attended to him. That gentleman stated that the boy’s clothing smoked then, 
and there was a strong smell of prussic acid. On removing the burnt clothes, he found 
that the lower part of the abdomen was much burnt, as also the upper part of the left 
thigh. The boy died on Sunday last from the shock produced by the injuries. Mr. 
Moore made several suggestions as to what the combustible matter was. He thought it 
was one of the explosive balls composed of phosphoric acid , and winch were sold by chemists 
to kill rats ! The boy told him that while he had the stuff in his pocket he rubbed it 
with his finger, when it exploded. The coroner said it was perfectly clear what the 
stuff was—it was phosphorus. If phosphorus were allowed to lie in water it would 
not take fire, but if removed it would, particularly if submitted to friction. The evidence 
adduced by the witnesses showed plainly the properties possessed by phosphorus, and 
no doubt that which had caused this death had been accidentally dropped. A verdict of 
“ Accidental death, through the combustion of phosphorus,” was then recorded.— Times. 
Alleged Poisoning by Coloured Sweetmeats. —An inquest has been held be¬ 
fore Mr. Bedford, coroner for Westminster, on the body of Arthur Leopold Bosworth, 
aged 5 years, who is supposed to have died from eating a sweetmeat called a “ red-lady.” 
At the adjourned inquest Dr. Harley stated that he had tested the coloured sweetmeats, 
which he found contained no poison. On examining the so-called black cake however, 
and submitting a portion of it to the sulphuric-acid test, it threw off metallic copper; 
and on the solution being submitted to the galvanic test, it yielded positive copper. The 
other portion of the black cake contained grains of copper, visible to the naked eye. The 
manufacturer of the cakes said they were composed of rhubarb, Seville orange-peel, and 
treacle, and they were called black-currant squares! It appeared that these precious 
compounds were boiled in copper pans. Dr. Harley said the proof they required was 
absent, for the stomach was quite empty. The symptoms however were those of copper 
poisoning. The jury returned a verdict of “Death from convulsions ; but whether those 
convulsions were produced by poison or by natural causes, there was not sufficient evi¬ 
dence to prove.” 
CAUTION TO CHEMISTS. 
We are requested by Mr. Pollock, of Fenchurch Street, to give publicity to the follow¬ 
ing circumstance, as a caution to his brother Pharmaceutists :— 
“On the 30th of October, about six o’clock in the evening, while in my shop serving 
a well-known customer for sulphate of quinine, a person came in, soon followed by an¬ 
other. Having served the quinine, the man who first came in, instead of stating what 
he wanted, turned round and surveyed the shop, and the other politely declined to be 
served as No. 1 came in first, and as No. 1 stated that his order would take some time to 
execute, he would wait: accordingly No 2 was served, and he departed. I had some diffi¬ 
culty in ascertaining what the other wanted ; it however turned out to be logwood and 
alum, and as he wished to go further, he would call again for the articles. As my cus¬ 
tomer did not return, I began to suspect something wrong, and, on looking round the 
shop, found the bottle of quinine was missing!” 
BOOKS RECEIVED. 
Special Therapeutics ; an Investigation into the Treatment of Acute and 
Chronic Diseases, by the Application of Water, the Hot-air Bath, and Inhala¬ 
tion. By J. C. Long Marsh, M.D., etc. London: Robert Hardwicke, 192, Picca¬ 
dilly. 1863. 
On Glycerine, and its Uses in Medicine, Surgery, and Pharmacy ; being prin¬ 
cipally an abstract of M. Demarquay’s Treatise, ‘ De la Glycerine,’ etc. By W. 
Abbotts Smith, M.D. London : H. K. Lewis, 15, Gower Street North. 1863. 
