318 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[October 19,187?. 
excited. The deceased said he believed the fire occurred 
through an escape of gas. She thought he was insured 
for £150, hut there was not much damage done. About 
one o’clock on Monday morning she found her husband 
trembling violently in bed. He asked for some mustard 
and water several times, which was given him. He 
said that he had taken something, which he must bring 
off his stomach, or he would be a dead man very soon. 
A doctor was at once sent for, but Toye never rallied. 
She believed he died from the shock from the fire. 
William Withers, superintendent of the Salvage Corps, 
said he attended the fire, which broke out under the 
showboard in the shop window. There were gas-fittings 
above it, but the meter was turned off. The deceased 
was insured for £300. Witness thought the stock 
and furniture worth about £200, and that the fire 
was not accidental. John Blyth, Salvage Corps Auxi¬ 
liary, was left in charge of the house on the night in 
question. The last he saw of the deceased was at twelve 
o’clock, when he retired to rest. Mr. Toye said he 
would be ruined by the fire, as he was not insured suffi¬ 
ciently, and he had some bills coming due. He was but 
little excited. He came downstairs again a few minutes 
after twelve, and went into the back parlour, took a 
bottle from off the sideboard, and said, “There is no 
sherry in it.” He took another bottle, containing essence 
of lavender, smelt it, and put it down again. A bottle 
was missing from next the one he had replaced. Mr. 
Shepherd, landlord of the house, living opposite, saw 
deceased standing at his door within ten minutes of the 
fire breaking out. Mr. Llewellyn, surgeon, found no 
marks of violence on deceased. He had forwarded the 
contents of the stomach to Dr. Tidy, of the London 
Hospital, for analysis, as directed. Mr. Bass, gas in¬ 
spector, examined the meter, which had not exploded, 
but was melted by the fire. The fire could not have 
originated through the fault of the meter. Dr. Tidy, 
lecturer on chemistry, etc., at the London Hospital, said 
he analysed the contents of the stomach of the de¬ 
ceased man, and found minute but distinct traces 
of strychnine, which he believed was the cause of death. 
The Coroner then summed up, and the jury returned a 
verdict that “ Deceased took a quantity of strychnine 
while of unsound mind.”— Standard, 
Suicides by Prussic Acid. 
On Tuesday, October 1st, an inquest was held by 
Mr. William Carter, the coroner for East Surrey, re¬ 
specting the death of Mr. Edmond Edmonds, aged 76 
years, who committed suicide by poisoning himself with 
prussic acid. Mr. G-eorge Edmonds stated that the 
deceased was his father, and carried on the business of a 
surgeon and physician at Hercules Buildings, Lambeth. 
On the previous Tuesday morning, at about a quarter 
past one o’clock, while witness was engaged in the sur¬ 
gery, the deceased came in, having on his boots, but 
being otherwise undressed, with the exception of his 
nightdress. After speaking to witness deceased walked 
into the consulting-room at the side of the surgery. 
The gas was burning at the time, and witness observed 
him walk towards a desk between the counter and the 
surgery door. Witness asked him what he wanted 
there, and he replied, “Nothing, nothing.” He then 
opened one of the small drawers, and upon witness walk¬ 
ing into the room he observed the prussic-acid drawer 
partially open. Witness closed it and said to him 
“ What do you want; you don’t want anything out of 
this room?” He replied, “No, nothing.” He then 
opened two ot three other small drawers, but witness 
did not see him take anything out of either. He then 
walked back into the surgery, and thence upstairs, as 
witness believed for the purpose of retiring to rest. 
About five minutes afterwards witness heard a groaning 
and gasping noise proceeding from the drawing-room 
upstairs. He ran up to that room immediately, and 
found the deceased lying upon the couch upon his back,, 
gasping for breath. On the table in the room he saw a 
blue vial, which was partially filled with prussic acid. 
The room smelt very strongly of that drug, and upon 
going to the deceased witness found him in a state of in¬ 
sensibility, and foaming from the mouth. Medical assist¬ 
ance was sent for, but deceased died in about half an 
hour. The jury returned a verdict “ That the deceased! 
destroyed his life whilst in a state of mental derange¬ 
ment.” 
A determined suicide by prussic acid is also reported from 
Derby. Mr. Joseph Pickering, a well-known convey¬ 
ancing solicitor in Derby, on Saturday evening, October 
12th, retired to rest at his usual hour. Deceased and 
his wife slept in separate rooms. Nothing was noticed, 
in his manner to excite the least suspicion, but early 
next morning, as he had not made his appearance down¬ 
stairs, his room was entered, and he was found lying 
undressed by the bedside quite cold. Beside him lay a. 
small bottle, three parts full of prussic acid. Medical 
assistance was called in and pronounced life to have 
been extinct for several hours. The bed clothes were 
merely turned down, and it is supposed that deceased 
took the poison, and died before he could get into bed. 
No motive can be assigned for the rash act beyond a. 
complaint he had uttered of loss of memory.— Standard.. 
GEORGE CONDER. 
We regret to have to record the death, after only a 
week’s illness, of Mr. George Conder, Pharmaceutical' 
Chemist, of Hastings, at the age of 29. In 1869, Mr. 
Conder obtained the Pereira medal. Since then he had 
resided for nearly two years at Hastings, where he had 
been very much respected. 
Notice has also beenreceived of the following deaths - 
On the 30th of August, Mr. Philip Marrack, Pharma¬ 
ceutical Chemist, of West Cowes, Isle of Wight, aged 
29. Mr. Marrack had been a member of the Pharma¬ 
ceutical Society since 1867. 
On the 16th September, Mr. Walter Tracey Walker, 
Pharmaceutical Chemist, of Croydon. Mr. Walker had 
been a member of the Pharmaceutical Society since 1867. 
On the 1st of October, Mr. William Collier, Pharma¬ 
ceutical Chemist, formerly of Sheffield Moor, Sheffield. 
Mr. Collier had been a member of the Pharmaceutical 
Society since 1853. 
On the 6th September, Mr. Edward Russell Warring¬ 
ton, chemist and druggist, of Castleford. 
On the 10 th September, Mr. Alexander Wylie, chemist 
and druggist, of Port Glasgow. 
On the 16th September, Mr. Richard Twitchell, che¬ 
mist and druggist, of Plymouth. 
On the 16th Septembei’, Mr. William Whittle Brown,, 
chemist and druggist, of Ormskirk, Lancs. 
BOOKS RECEIVED. 
Qualitative Chemical Analysis. By Dr. C. Remigius* 
Fresenius. Eighth Edition. Translated from the' 
Thirteenth German Edition. By A. Vacher. Lon¬ 
don: J. and A. Churchill. 1872. From the Pub¬ 
lishers. 
Round the Table. Notes on Cookery and Plain Re¬ 
cipes, with a Selection of Bills of Fare for Every 
Month. By “The G. C.” London: Horace Cox. 
1872. 
Aide-Memoire de Pharmacie. Vade-Mecum du Phar- 
macien. Par Eusebe Ferrand. With 184 En¬ 
gravings. Paris: Balliere etFils. 1873. 
