AmNov.1;'i886arm'}    Mydriatic  Action  of  the  Solanacece.  £63 
nistic  plants  either  simultaneously  or  one  after  another  to  the  eyes  of 
a  cat.    Observe  the  result.    The  matter  is  not  without  difficulties, 
but  you  will  overcome  these.    But  now,  pray  tell  me,  how  you  came 
to  this  peculiar  kind  of  organic  chemistry ?'"    Run ge  related :  "In 
1810  I  was — a  pastor's  son,  from  the  country  near  Hamburg — sent 
to  Lubeck,  and  placed  in  the  Rathsapotheke  as  an  apprentice.  It  was 
a  warlike  time,  and  Napoleon  prepared  his  invasion  of  Russia.  All 
men  able  to  carry  arms  were  mustered  out,  and,  on  account  of  the  uni- 
versal unwillingness  to  serve  under  the  tyrant,  it  was  a  matter  of  diffi- 
culty to  find  a  substitute.    Through  recommendation  of  my  uncle,  I 
had  received  admission  into  several  aristocratic  families,  and  the  son 
of  one  of  them  became  a  friend  of  mine.    One  evening  he  came  to 
the  drug  store  in  great  commotion,  and  told  me  his  trouble,  that  the 
day  after  to-morrow  he  had  to  present  himself  for  service,  and  that, 
being  without  physical  defect,  he  probably  would  be  taken.  'I 
would  like  to  mutilate  my  hand/  he  sighed,  'in  order  not  to  go  into 
this  ignominious  war.'    '  That  is  not  necessary/  I  said.    i  Confide  in 
me.    I  believe  to  be  able  to  mutilate  you  for  a  short  time  with  im- 
punity.   They  will  have  to  exempt  you  from  service.'    '  What  are 
you  going  to  do  with  me?'    'I  will  make  you  blind  for  twenty-four 
hours.'    '  How  are  you  going  to  do  that  ? '    '  Listen  to  me.  About 
eight  weeks  ago  I  had  to  prepare  a  medicine,  according  to  a  doctor's 
prescription,  in  which  a  decoction  of  the  juice  of  hyoscyamus  was  to 
be  dissolved  in  water.    Preparing  the  medicine  in  a  mortar,  a  drop 
accidentally  got  into  my  eye.    I  experienced  no  pain,  and  did  not 
observe  any  alteration  until  sensations  of  light  flashes  caused  me  to 
go  to  the  looking-glass.    How  great  was  my  astonishment  when  I 
saw  the  change  that  had  taken  place  in  my  eye.    The  iris  had  almost 
wholly  disappeared,  and  the  eye  looked  precisely  like  that  of  a  man 
suffering  from  amaurosis.     The  power  of  vision  was  also  greatly 
weakened,  as  I  noticed  when  I  closed  the  unaffected  eye.    I  don't 
know  why  this  state  of  things  did  not  raise  any  fears  in  me.  After 
lasting  a  few  days,  the  abnormal  condition  disappeared,  and  the  power 
of  vision  returned,  and  also  the  normal  proportions  of  the  iris,  so  that 
both  pupils  appeared  again  of  equal  size.  And  behold  !  such  an  affec- 
tion I  will  produce  in  both  your  eyes,  and  it  would  be  very  queer  if 
you  would  not  be  discharged  even  after  a  superficial  examination.' 
After  making  some  easily-removed  objections,  my  friend  consented  to 
this,  at  that  time,  very  pardonable  fraud,  and  thus  saved  his  life,  for 
