244 
MISCELLANEA. 
Brighton, on the body of Mr. Thomas Boys, formerly residing in Lansdown Place, in 
that parish. It appeared from the evidence that the deceased, who was eighty years of 
age, suffered from disease of the heart, and, by the advice of his medical man, had been 
in the habit of taking thirty drops of tincture of henbane, to allay the palpitation and 
to produce sleep. He also used tincture of aconite externally. On Friday, August 
18, a fresh supply of these medicines was obtained from Mr. Noakes, chemist, North 
Street, and on the Sunday night following Mr. Boys took thirty drops from the bottle 
labelled “ Tincture of Henbane, Poison,” in a wineglass of camphor julep. He remarked 
that there was something peculiar in the taste, and half an hour afterwards he was 
seized with numbness and cramp, and had a desire to vomit. He died about five o’clock 
the following morning. On the contents of the bottle being analysed, it was found to 
be tincture of aconite instead of henbane. The post-mortem examination showed very 
extensive disease of the heart, and, from the medical evidence given, it appeared to be 
very doubtful whether death was caused by the aconite or resulted from natural causes; 
in fact, one of the medical witnesses was of opinion that deceased was in a dying state 
when he called for his medicine. It having been proved that the bottle contained aco¬ 
nite, evidence was taken for the purpose of tracing the same from Mr. Noakes’s shop to 
the house of the deceased. The coroner having addressed the jury at considerable 
length, the following verdict was returned“ That the said Thomas Boys died from 
the effects of aconite, and that such aconite was supplied to him from the shop of 
Eichard Noakes, of North Street, Brighton, Chemist, in mistake for henbane.” Subse¬ 
quently, Mr. Noakes was brought before the magistrates on the charge of manslaughter, 
and at the conclusion of the inquiry they regretted that they felt called upon to send the 
case to a jury. Bail was accepted, the accused in £200, and two sureties in £100 each. 
Poisoning- by Veratria — On Thursday, September 21, Mr. C. J. Carttar, coroner 
for West Kent, resumed an inquiry, which had been three times adjourned, into 
the circumstances attending the death of Mrs. Elizabeth Reeve, aged 40, the wife 
of a veterinary surgeon residing at 52, Asburnham Grove, Greenwich, and which, it 
is alleged, was occasioned by the administration of a certain poison known as veratria. 
Mr. H. R. Palmer, surgeon, said that on the 15th of August last, he was called by 
the husband of the deceased to see his wife, who was dangerously ill. He also said that 
his wife had been seized with vomiting, and had been attended the day previously by 
Mr. Hope’s assistant, who had administered some effervescent medicine, alter taking of 
which his wife had complained of the taste, and had become worse. Witness tasted the 
medicine, which he found to be an ordinary saline mixture. He found her fast sinking, 
and, having another case to attend, he left, and on returning home three or four hours 
afterwards he heard that death had taken place. 
After some further medical evidence, Dr. Cogan, of Greenwich, said that, in the com¬ 
pany of his two assistants, and other medical gentlemen, he made a post-mortem exa¬ 
mination of the body, and found that deceased was about eight months with child. 
On the left side, between the membrane and the brain he found a clot of blood, arising 
from the rujiture of a blood-vessel, sufficient to cause death, which might have been oc¬ 
casioned by excessive vomiting. 
Professor J. E. R. Rodgers, of Pentonville, said he had received a box from Dr. Cogan 
containing parts of the body of the deceased with two quantities of wine, and the re¬ 
mainder of the mixture and powders prescribed by Mr. Hope’s assistant. He found the 
kidneys diseased as in “ Bright’s disease.” Different parts were subjected to a distinct 
system of analysis, mercury and antimony being first searched for, but there was no 
trace whatever of any metallic poison. In the wine he found an alkaloid, being a sepa¬ 
ration from various plants, and which gave indications of the presence of a deadly poison 
known as veratria or white hellebore. In the kidneys, viscera, and portions of the liver 
he found the same traces in minute but clear quantities, and in the stomach the 
poison was in greater quantities. One-fourth of a grain of this poison would be dan¬ 
gerous to life, whether swallowed or taken into the system in any other manner. Half 
a grain would^ be very dangerous, and death would take place in from six to twenty- 
four hours. The poison Avas used externally for neuralgic pains. He had tested the 
medicines prescribed by Mr. Hope’s assistant; they were perfectly pure. The poison 
had been absorbed into the blood of the deceased, but from the quantities traced he had 
no doubt that enough might be detected to cause death. 
Dr. Cogan said, after hearing the evidence of Professor Rodgers, his opinion was that 
