38 
MISCELLANEA. 
authorizes a company to sell not only these, but the lozenges in question, by means of 
their agents.” Moreover, a case was decided in favour of the confectioners in an action 
brought by the pharmaciens at Vichy. Either the Vichy lozenge is not a medicament, 
or an Imperial decree has authorized a commercial society to commit an infraction of the 
law by selling it without a pharmacien’s diploma. The tribunal, without troubling itself 
with the delicate point of interpreting the legal value of an Imperial decree, has simply 
declared that the Vichy lozenge is a medicinal agent, and convicted the confectioner 
for the illegal practice of pharmacy. 
Poisoning- by Lead. —The following details were educed at an inquest before Mr. 
Richards, held in Schoolhouse Lane, Ratcliff. The investigation was into the cir¬ 
cumstances attending the death of Elizabeth Wood, aged 55, who had died in violent 
convulsions. The deceased had been married, but had been obliged to leave her hus¬ 
band owing to his misconduct. He denied her any assistance, and she was left with 
her aged mother, nearly 80 years old, to support. About four months ago, she sought 
and obtained work at Messrs. Johnson’s whitelead factory, in Limehouse. She was then 
in good bodily health. She laboured there from six o’clock in the morning till six 
o’clock in the evening, and her wages for these twelve hours were Is. 6d. These were 
the regular hours, but sometimes the work went on till nine o’clock, or even till eleven 
o’clock at night, and then the last five of these seventeen hours was reckoned “ over¬ 
time.” There were about twenty women at this factory thus employed, and the evi¬ 
dence recorded that they were for the most part young. The unfortunate woman who 
commenced the work well, soon fell ill, poisoned by the occupation. Her joints became 
weak, her body wasted, her teeth became black, and she got palsied. With the first 
effects she went to a doctor, who told her she must inevitably die from the lead poison¬ 
ing unless she left the work. But she asked, what could she do ? She had her old 
mother to support as well as herself, and she had no choice but to go on or starve. 
She did so; and first was unable to work on all days in the week, then could struggle 
only on some, and, finally, could not get to the place at all; then she was seized with 
convulsions, and died. The doctor to whom she had been gave evidence that her 
death resulted from lead poisoning, accelerated by want of food. Doubtless she was 
rendered unable to take or eat sufficient food by the state of her teeth and gums, etc., 
from the poisoning of the blood. Some constitutions gave way under the action of 
the lead poisoning much sooner than others. The jury gave a special verdict, embody¬ 
ing with the medical reasons given in evidence an opinion that, “ considering the deadly 
nature of the occupation, the hours of employment in whitelead factories are too long, 
and also that it would be desirable that there should be a systematic inspection of such 
establishments by a Government officer.”— Times. 
Poisoning- by Arsenic. — An inquest has been held at Wrexham before B. H. 
Thelwall, Esq., respecting the deaths of a woman named Millington, and her four 
children, who were taken suddenly ill with vomiting and all the symptoms of arsenical 
poisoning; death took place within a space of a few days. Edward Millington, the 
husband, also suffered in a similar way, but recovered; he attributed the sickness to 
some bread of which all the family had eaten, but it was stated that some of the chil¬ 
dren were attacked before the bread in question was purchased. A post-mortem exami¬ 
nation of the bodies was made, and the contents of the stomachs, etc., were forwarded 
to Dr. Edwards, of Liverpool, for analysis, the result of which plainly showed that death 
in all the cases had been caused by arsenic. Dr. Edwards also analysed some of the 
bread, flour, and sugar, but found no trace of poison in them. As the case appeared to 
be surrounded with considerable mystery, at the suggestion of the coroner, the inquiry 
was adjourned. 
Suicide by Paraffine Oil. —Some time since Mr. Payne held an inquest on 
the body of Mrs. Maria Elizabeth Brown, aged 44, who lived at Deptford Lower 
Road. It was stated that a short time since, her child was robbed by a woman, whom 
the deceased had prosecuted, and she had been so persecuted by this woman that 
her mind was affected, and it was thought by her husband that this was the cause of 
her taking the paraffine oil. Mr. Turner, surgeon, was called in, and he stated that she 
took two large doses of the oil; she also attempted to cut her throat, but death was 
caused by the paraffine, and the jury returned a verdict that the deceased committed 
suicide by taking a quantity of paraffine oil while in a state of unsound mind. 
Poisoning by Burnett's Solution of Chloride of Zinc. —In a case of poison- 
