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REVIEWS. 
and offered to assist him, but deceased herself declined my doing so. I have never given 
deceased food. Dr. Warder used to ask for me to do so if he did not come back in time ; 
but, as a malter of fact, I have never given her food. I have a nephew staying with 
me who is about six years old, and when I have not been in the way, he has often eaten 
all that has come down from the room of deceased—the beef tea, and so on. When he 
called us up Dr. Warder begged of my servant to go for Mr. Branwell. He said he had 
rung the bell immediately he saw the change. When she came to my house deceased 
said she was excitable, and that she did not wish any one about her, and therefore I did 
not see her frequently. Dr. Warder always remained with her when she was ill; she 
could not endure him to leave her for a moment. I never suggested a nurse, for she 
told me she preferred her husband to do everything for her. At this stage of the pro¬ 
ceedings the inquiry was adjourned for ten days, the coroner informing the jury that in 
the meantime he would direct Dr. Taylor to make an analysis of the contents of the 
stomach and intestines. 
The adjourned inquiry was resumed on Monday, July 16th, when Dr. Taylor handed 
in a report of the result of various analytical tests, in which he said he was unable to 
trace poison in any portion of the parts submitted to bim. Their general appearance, 
however, was not unlike those which would be produced by aconite; although, in the 
absence of a description of the symptoms before death, he was unable to state that death 
was caused by that poison. The coroner then read over the evidence taken at the 
previous inquiry. Dr. Taylor then said that from his knowledge of the case, he had 
formed a conclusion as to the cause of death. The symptoms were not consistent with 
any disease he had ever seen or heard of; but they were consistent with what he thought 
would be produced by the administration of small quantities of aconite, or some other 
poison of a similar nature, than by anything else he knew of. The appearances of the 
body did not show any natural cause of death; but they were such as would have been 
produced by the action of tincture of aconite. The last case of poisoning by aconite he 
had an opportunity of observing occurred in November, 1863, and the symptoms during 
life and the appearance after death were precisely similar to those in this case, only they 
were more severe, the person in that case dying in two hours after taking a large dose. 
Aconite, when given in small quantities, acts particularly on the heart, lowering its 
action, rendering the person weaker and weaker until he dies of syncope. Doses as small 
as ten or twelve minims would cause this effect if the doses were given repeatedly. 
Dr. Wilkes, lecturer in chemistry at Gruy’s Hospital, stated that he was unable to con¬ 
nect the illness of the deceased with any known disease. He was inclined to the same 
belief as Dr. Taylor was that the symptoms were mainly due to aconite. The jury re¬ 
turned the following verdict: “Deceased died from the effects of aconite given by her 
husband, and that he committed wilful murder.” 
On Tuesday, July 10, Dr. Warder was found dead in his bed. A bottle with prussic 
acid was found in the room, and he appeared to have taken about half an ounce of the 
acid. Evidence was given that showed that he had planned his death very methodically. 
Dr. Warder was for some years lecturer on medical jurisprudence at the School of 
Anatomy and Medicine adjoining St. George’s Hospital, and medical officer to St. Luke’s 
Workhouse, Chelsea. 
An inquest on the body was held on the following day, when application for an 
adjournment was made, on the plea that members of the deceased’s family had exhibited 
insanity. The plea was considered by the Jury, and the inquest was adjourned in order 
that an examination of the brain of the deceased might be made. 
REVIEWS. 
Tratado de Farmacia y Earmacognosia. For Carlos Murray, Profesor de Farmacia 
y Farmacogriosia en la Facultad de Medicina, Presidents y Ex-Secretario generate de 
la Sociedad de Farmacia Argentina, Miembro de la Sociedad Quimica de Paris, etc. 
Buenos-Ayres, 1866, 8vo, pp. 679. 
Among the agreeable evidences of progress presented by the South American Ee- 
publics, we note an attention on the part of Government to pharmaceutical education. 
