June 17,1871.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
1023 
quarter of a saucer full. She had not been sick before, 
but only complained. As soon as she got the tea out 
of the saucer she was sick before she could get out of 
her chair. I then got some tea and also began to be 
sick. Bromby at that time was in the back kitchen, and 
also looking out of the front kitchen door. That morning 
there had been a disagreement between my mother and 
the under-girl. There had also been one once before. 
On the Thursday morning (the day of the occurrence) 
mother told her to sweep up the back kitchen. I 
did not hear her say anything in reply. When I came 
down, the other girl told me that Bromby had been 
saucy to my mother. I spoke to her and told her I should 
not have my mother insulted. She did not say anything 
to me and I told her she should leave. I believe I said 
she should go at once. My mother was first sick on the 
lawn. 
By Dr. Procter: The substance that boiled up out of 
the kettle was not like red sand. 
Mr. William Procter, of York, deposed: I am a doctor 
of medicine and Fellow of the Chemical Society, Lon¬ 
don. I received on Sunday, the 21st of May, from Dr. 
Calvert, the following articles, viz. No. 1 jar, containing 
a liver and portion of intestine. In both I found a small 
quantity of arsenic. Another jar contained a stomach 
and its contents. That I found, on examination, to be 
considerably inflamed, and contain a small quantity of 
stringy mucus, with matter like white of egg, which 
chemically I found it to be. In this, also, I detected 
arsenic. No. 3 was a pint bottle, labelled water from 
the pump. On standing, that deposited a brown matter, 
which I separated by filtration, and found to consist only 
of organic matter. In neither the water nor the deposit 
could I detect any trace of arsenic or lead. No. 4 was a 
bottle containing about four ounces of water said to be 
obtained from the kettle. On standing, it deposited a 
reddish-brown powder. This I separated by filtration. 
In the first instance I distilled the clear water filtered 
from the powder. I found nothing in the distillate. 
I then examined the water, and from the quantity 
of water given to me, about four ounces, I separated 
12 grains of sulphide, or yellow arsenic, which is equi¬ 
valent to 9J grains of white arsenic. I then examined 
the brown powder which I had separated by filtration. 
That contained very slight traces of arsenic, and I found 
it to be composed of carbonate of lime and oxide, or rust 
of iron. (Witness explained that he did not expect to 
find arsenic in quantities in the powder; it was soluble, 
and would be found in the water.) No. 5 was a bottle 
containing Mrs. Harper’s last vomit. That contained a 
large quantity of greenish deposit, which the microscope 
showed to consist of mucus containing partly digested 
food, and a few muscular fibres and fat globules. I 
found, by examination, that the green tinge was due to 
bile. I detected no mineral poison. No. 6 was Mrs. 
Harper’s fmces. In that I detected no mineral poison. 
No. 7 was given to me as the under-servant’s vomit. It 
contained some whitish particles floating in it, which 
the microscope showed to be partly digested food and 
fat mixed with mucus. This I verified chemically. I 
detected no arsenic, lead, or other mineral poison in it. 
No. 8 was given me as the upper-servant’s vomit. I 
found it contained a very large quantity of flaky matter, 
which was evidently food. I detected no poisonous 
matter at all. No. 9 was a bottle which contained water, 
and a reddish powder adhering to the sides and to the 
bottom of the bottle. This I found to be a mixture of 
litharge and red load with some oily matter. I found 
no arsenic in it. On Tuesday, the 23rd of May, I re¬ 
ceived from Mr. Calvert the following articles, namely, 
No. 10, an iron kettle. At the time he brought it to my 
house it contained about a tea-cup full of water. In his 
presence, in that water, I showed the presence of arsenic. 
The kettle is very much furred with oxide of iron. (This, 
witness said, was only the ordinary fur.) No. 11 was 
a caddy, containing about a teaspoonful of tea. That 
contained no poisonous substance. Several other pack¬ 
ages I received, but I found no arsenic in them. No. 19 
was a red powder, but it contained no arsenic. The 
packages, from No. 15 to 19, I received from Superin¬ 
tendent Wright, on the 29th of May. The others I re¬ 
ceived from Dr. Calvert. I received others up to No. 
25, which were of no importance. No. 26 was a tin case 
in which was a sod, on which had been vomited matter. 
I examined it carefully. It gave no indication of any 
poisonous matter, except arsenic, which I found in it. 
No. 27 was a portion of soil, but it contained no arsenic. 
It has been stated that some soils contained arsenic, but 
this did not. 
In reply to Lieut-Col. Layard, Dr. Procter said he 
had received communications from large manufacturers 
of colours, and found that the practice to mix red lead 
with arsenic to adulterate it was unknown. Since this 
occurrence he had analysed red lead from nearly all the 
retail dealers in York, and found no arsenic. With re¬ 
gard to the existence of arsenic in water he might say 
that cold water would take up a grain or a grain and a 
half, whilst water which has been boiled and allowed to 
cool would take up perhaps 12 grains. 
Dr. Calvert, of Brandesburton, deposed : On Thursday, 
the 18th May, about a quarter to eight o’clock p.m., I 
received a note from Mrs. Harper stating that Megson, 
from Leven, had been repairing their pump, after which 
the girl had filled the teakettle. Tea having been made, 
the family had partaken of it, and were immediately 
taken ill. The writer requested that I should send them 
something to do them good. I considered the matter 
well over, and considered it my duty to proceed to the 
house, as I suspected it was a case of poisoning. My 
suspicions were more confirmed on meeting a young man 
named Watson Dunn, jun., coming for me to visit his 
brother, who had just arrived from the Harpers, and 
who was suffering from violent vomiting and other symp¬ 
toms. His residence being in the way to the Harpers, 
I first visited him and found him suffering from violent 
vomiting, attended with pains at the stomach, with heat 
and burning at the back of the throat, headache, great 
thirst, drowsiness and general collapse. The skin was 
cold and clammy and the countenance pale; the pulse 
small and scarcely perceptible. He had vomited freely 
on his way home, and had had an emetic administered. 
I gave him certain directions in the way of treatment, 
and then proceeded to the Harpers. On my arrival I 
found Miss Harper and the child reclining on a couch. 
I at once inquired what was the matter, and Miss Harper 
told me that after partaking of tea the child, her mother 
and herself had commenced to vomit. I proceeded to 
examine Miss Harper and the child, and found them 
suffering from similar symptoms to those from which 
Henry Dunn was suffering. I then inquired for Mrs. 
Harper and found her in bed. She got up and came 
down to see me. In the meantime Mrs. Harper referred 
me to the under-girl, Hannah Bromby, who she said 
was suffering the same way as the rest of the family. I 
proceeded to the kitchen and found Bromby suffering, as 
far as I was able to judge at the time, from the same 
symptoms as the rest of the family. I administered the 
usual remedies in cases of irritant poison, and, after a 
space of about three hours and a half, found my patients 
to a certain extent rallied. I returned to Leven, and 
finding Dunn somewhat better I went home and for¬ 
warded medicine to each patient. About half-past three 
next morning I was again summoned, and arrived soon 
after four. I found that the child had died in the mean¬ 
time. Mrs. Harper was suffering from a great amount 
of collapse, and I requested Mr. Harper to send for Dr. 
Boulton. In the meantime I administered stimulants, 
and had the satisfaction of finding Mrs. Harper gradually 
rallying. About seven o’clock I was summoned to Leven 
to a case, and, considering that Mrs. Harper had, to some 
extent rallied, and expecting the presence of Dr. Boulton 
shortly, I left. On returning, about eleven, which was 
