ACCIDENTAL POISONING BY MORPHIA. 
48 : 
q cl rte i t0 flVe Y^ ness was awoke b T his g roans » atld tried to wake 
him, but could not. She then went for Dr. Gascoigne, who used all the means in his 
power to restore animation hut without success. The delivery of the medicine to Mrs. 
Spooner was proved by Charles Windsor, who obtained it from Sergeant Harding, by whom 
it was dispensed. Dr. Gascoigne deposed that he had at various times prescribed for the 
eceased who was a sickly man. The last prescription was for a mixture composed of 
nitrate of bismuth, mucilage, and water. When called by Mrs. Spooner to see her hus- 
band he found an eight-ounce bottle of medicine, out of which an ounce and a half was 
gone._ From its bitter taste he thought it was no prescription of his, and he afterwards 
examined it, and found it to contain morphia. From the symptoms he had observed 
and from the postmortem examination of the body, he was of opinion that deceased died 
from an o\erdose of morphia. Dr. Gascoigne stated that the hospital surgery was under 
the care ot Sergeant Harding, who was considered a careful dispenser. The bottles in 
the surgery were clearly labelled. The morphia bottle and the bismuth bottle were of 
the same size, but. of different shapes. The inquiry was adjourned for the purpose of 
having an analysis made of the mixture, and of the contents of the stomach, by 
Dr. Taylor The inquiry was resumed on Monday, February 19th, when Dr. Taylor 
gave the following evidenceOn Thursday, the 8th instant, there were delivered for 
analysis at the chemical laboratory, Guy’s Hospital, by Superintendent Hornigold, some 
articles which were examined by me, and which are specified and detailed in the report 
made by me, which is as follows1. A stoneware jar, sealed; and labelled, contain¬ 
ing a human stomach; 2. An eight-ounce medicine bottle, also sealed and labelled, con¬ 
taining.a colourless liquid; 3. Three small phials (two of blue glass and one colourless), 
containing liquids, also sealed and labelled, with the doses of each medicine. 1 . The 
Stomach. Ihis organ had been cut open and tied. It had been placed in spirit, about 
five ounces of which were collected and reserved for analysis. The lining membrane of 
the stomach was free from any appearance of disease, excepting a few patches of red¬ 
ness, which may have resulted from chronic inflammation of the stomach. The coats 
were firm. The stomach and the liquid in which it was immersed were treated with 
the usual tests and piocesses for the detection of poison, and a small quantity of morphia 
was found to be present in them. Morphia, it may be observed, in destroying life pro¬ 
duced no well-marked changes in the stomach. 2. The Eight-ounce Bottle.— This was 
labelled as a bottle of medicine, “Two tablespoonfuls one hour before meals,” with the 
name of Sergeant Spooner. The bottle contained five ounces of a colourless liquid, 
without smell, but of a slightly bitter taste, neutral in reaction, opaque and frothy 
when shaken, showing the presence of some gummy or mucilaginous matter. There 
u as a thick, heavy white sediment at the bottom of the bottle. The mixture did not 
become clear after standing for a week, but the sediment had increased during this 
time. The liquid contents of the bottle and the sediment were examined separately. 
13^ the usual chemical tests and processes the liquid was found to contain morphia, a 
gummy substance, and a mineral preparation in small quantity—namely, a compound of 
bismuth. The sediment consisted in great part of oxide of bismuth, with a small quan¬ 
tity of morphia. Out of thirteen grains of sediment there were ten grains of bismuth 
and three of morphia. In the liquid portion the morphia was partly dissolved and 
partly, suspended, owing to the presence of the gum or mucilage. Two separate exa¬ 
minations of this liquid were made .by different methods, in order to determine the 
amount of morphia present. A tablespoonful was found to contain from two to three 
grains of morphia ; hence, in two tablespoonfuls there would be from four to six grains 
of morphia, so suspended by the gum or mucilage as to favour its absorption by an 
empty stomach, and its rapid operation as a poison. A person taking this dose would 
speedily become insensible, and probably die in a few hours. The liquid contained no 
trace of quinine. The gum or mucilage in it may be regarded as an innocent prepara¬ 
tion, and the bismuth, the greater part of which was in the sediment, was not in suffi¬ 
cient quantity to produce any ill effects. The oxide of bismuth found in the bottles is 
a safe medicine, and is much used in cases of indigestion arising from chronic disease of 
the stomach. As the morphia in this liquid is more suspended by the gum than actually 
dissolved, the deceased, in taking tw r o tablespoonfuls, may have taken more morphia 
than is above stated. As the mixture had been made and probably shaken shortly 
before the dose was taken, the quantity of morphia contained in two tablespoonfuls may 
have been larger; but the amount of morphia present, after the mixture had stood for 
