44 
POISONING BY SUBSTITUTION OF STRYCHNIA FOR MORPHIA. 
A case of poisoning with strychnia, attended with some peculiar circumstances, has 
been undergoing a lengthened investigation before the coroner at St. David’s, Pembroke¬ 
shire, and, after several adjournments, was brought to a conclusion on the 31st of May. 
The inquiry related to the death of Essex T. Williams, surgeon, late of Dunstable, 
Beds. It appeared from the evidence of the widow and sister of the deceased, that he 
had been in ill-health for some months, and had gone to live at Penberry, near St. 
David’s. He was in the habit of taking solution of acetate of morphia as a sedative, 
and on his journey to St. David’s, in passing through Haverfordwest, had obtained a 
supply of the solution there, which he took with the usual effects. On arriving at Pen- 
berry, the bottle being emptied, was given to Mr. Hicks, a surgeon of St. David’s, whose 
mother, a widow, keeps a chemist’s shop at the latter place, with instructions to get it 
replenished. An order in writing was also sent for the medicine, and Mrs. Hicks, who 
is a registered chemist and druggist, and conducts the business with the assistance of 
her daughter, but does all the dispensing herself, prepared the solution from a bottle 
labelled acetate of morphia, which she had received, three years ago, from a wholesale 
druggist in Bristol. In making the solution, however, she used, not the British Phar¬ 
macopoeia, but the London Pharmacopoeia of 1851, which she said she had been accus¬ 
tomed to use for the last thirteen years. She described very circumstantially the pre¬ 
paration of the solution; producing the book she had used as her authority (which, how¬ 
ever, had ceased to be such), she turned to the formula for solution of acetate of mor¬ 
phia, and mixed 4 grains of acetate,—taken from the bottle referred to,—2 drops of 
acetic acid, 1 drachm of spirit of wine, and 3 drachms of water, thus making altogether 
4 drachms of solution. This, even if it had contained acetate of morphia, as it pur¬ 
ported to do, would have been twice as strong as it ought to have been, on account of 
its having been made according to the London instead of the British Pharmacopoeia; 
but, in fact, as appears from the evidence, it not only contained a double proportion of 
the active ingredient, but this ingredient was not what the label indicated, but strychnia, 
or one of its salts. For this Mrs. Hicks does not appear to have been in any way re¬ 
sponsible. She had ordered acetate of morphia some three years ago, and the powder 
she now used for making the solution was supplied to her with a label bearing that 
name. She had not previously used it, but her son, the surgeon, had used two grains 
of it in a mixture on one occasion without any ill effects. The solution, prepared as 
we have described, was conveyed to Mr. Williams, at Penberry, and a dose, which, under 
any circumstances, would have been a large dose, was taken by the deceased. His in¬ 
structions to his wife were to give him 180 minims (fl. 5iij), measured with a minim- 
measure, and this he took mixed with orange-juice. Shortly after taking it, he re¬ 
marked, “ I feel very strange, like a person drunk.” He then directed the clothes to be 
thrown off him, and shortly afterwards exclaimed, “ They have made a mistake ; they 
have given me strychnia for morphia.” At this moment a medical man, Mr. Wathen, 
happened to call, whose evidence was to the following effect:— 
“ When I got to the bedside, I asked him what was the matter. He said, ‘ I have 
been poisoned; they have given me strychnine instead of morphine.’ He was then 
much cramped. I told him that such a mistake was very improbable. He answered, 
‘ What is the meaning of these horrid spasms ?’ He was then convulsed again. I exa¬ 
mined his eyes ; the pupils were dilated, the pulse full and rapid. I called for mustard, 
but he could not swallow it. The convulsions became more rapid. They were of a pe¬ 
culiar character. The back and body of the deceased became rigid and arched, the head 
was bent backward, and I believe he rested on his head and heels. The slightest touch 
of his person brought on tetanic spasms. He frequently cried out, ‘ Hold my legs ; lift 
the clothes off.’ The last words he used were, ‘Oh, kill me, kill me.’ At length he 
had a severe convulsive attack, the whole body became rigid and arched, the colour of 
the face became dusky and almost blue. This attack lasted about a minute. During 
the spasm he had a sardonic grin, the teeth were exposed, the muscles of the face drawn, 
and in that condition he died. These are distinctive marks of death from strychnine. 
My opinion, from what I have seen and heard, is that death was occasioned by strych¬ 
nia. From the time I entered the room to the time of his decease was about five 
minutes. I have analysed a portion of the contents of the bottle produced, received 
from Sergeant Wade. I opened it, took out a portion of the contents. I then sealed up 
