The Sun.
London, England, 1839-12-13 00:00:00

ARSENIC.

A very important discussion has arisen on the ques-
tion whether the arsenic discovered in the human body
subjected to sublimation or distillation is to be taken
as evidence that the body so operated upon was poi-
soned. M. Orfila's opinion is in this sense, and since the
invention of a new apparatus. for the operation, this opi-
nion has been given with such confidence that it has served
on more than one occasion to remove the doubts of juries.
M. Orfila admits, indeed, that the bones of all animals
contain arsenic, and that it is to be found in the blood ;
but he distinguishes between the normal poison and that
which has been absorbed—the first, he says, can only be
discovered by the use of acids and powerful agents ; the
second may be ascertained by the action of hot water. He
declares that he has operated in 400 cases, and has n ever
had cause to change his opinions on this subject. He
admits, however, that when the experiment is made
upon a body which has been long interiei, it is neces-
sary to proceed with caution, as all churchyards contain
arsenic, and absorption is possible from this cause, ul-
though it is very improbable. M. Orfila's doctrine,
which had been received as positive, met with a check
some months since from another chemist, who had ope-
rated upon various bodies in which the death was na-
tural, and found not only arsenic but other poisons in a
normal state ; and M. Raspail, a chemist of great emi-
nence, now comes forward to caution juries against
being led away by the opinions of M. Orfila. A man
is now on his trial at Dijon, charged with the murder of
his son by arsenic. The body was examined by the usual
tests before it was buried, and it was reported that no
arsenic was found. It was then interred, but was subse-
quently exhumed, and sent to M. Orfila, who, with the new
apparatus alluded to, found arsenic in every part. M.
Raspail has visited Dijon, at his own expense, solely in
the interest of science and humanity, to meet M. Orfila,
who is there as a witness, and controvert his doctrines.
He declaresthat none of M.Orfila's results are conclusive,
that many of the ordinary articles in use contain arse-
nic, and that the body coming into contact with them
might absorb them by electrical agency ; that the
iadis-
coveryiving
beenofa administered,rsenicinthe andbloo that if absorbed, disno critersiorbed, a
n of poison
A
isoin.
Orfila pretends, there must be traces of it in the tissues
through which it passed. which is not the case in this last
experiment. In short, he considers the whole process
as too uncertain to be admitted as judicial evidence,
and calls upon the Jury to reject it. The case was not
concluded when the account left, but M. Raspail's state-
ment appears to have produced so great a sensation,
that if the other evidence as to the guilt of the party
be not conclusive, be will in all probability be acquitted,
and what has been hitherto considered as infallible, on
the authority of M. Orfila, will in future be viewed with
great doubt. That arsenic taken into the stomach can
be traced in the blood, when there are no traces in the
stomach and intestines, is certain ; but in such cases
there must, according to M. Raspail, be traces of its
passage in the course of absorption. M. Orfila stated
that when he examined the body of Souffiard the mur-
derer, who poisoned himself to avoid public execution,
he discovered the arsenic in every part of the body, but
he does not say whether there were traces of its passage.
There lies the scientific point. If the poison can be carried
by absorption through all the absorbent vessels without
reifying any evidence of its pilsage, then M. Orfila may
be right. In answer to a question from the President
of the Tribunal, as to the quantity of arsenic which will
destroy human life, M. Orfila said, perhaps five or six
grains. He had opened the thigh of a
edoognee,riangsnirdxtahipgnelraaabeineand
upon the incision a little bag containing 48 grains of
and
aa r
half
beingea r f i c
weighed,. f
o nT h
ve,
hdogc i
was died,hfeo
uans ds
ua
mntode s
have t h e
that arsenicfi
lostv
are sufficient to destroy human life. M. Orfila seems
to intimate that arsenic taken into the stomach, if not
actually absorbed, will not occasion death ; but this must
be a mistake, as its corrosive qualities will act upon the
nervous and villous coats of the stomach and bring on
inflammation, in the same way as scalding water acts
upon the skin.—Letter from Paris.

FATAL ACCIDENT Bi.' LUCIFER MA•TCHEs..
—Yesterday William Mills, aged 3° yenrs, a lm
man, died in University College Hospital I.rom
the injury he had sustained by a box of lueifer nAteties
exploding in his poeket, and setting fire to his eiutnes
as he was lying asleep in a stable in Dulle.street,
Bloomsbury.
NOMINATION OF COMMON CPuNciLvg);
FOR I'ARRINGDON W ARD WITHOUT. —.Wednesday. at
one o'clock, a nutr,erous meeting of the citizens resi-
dent within the, precincts of St. D'anstan's-in-the-Vv cst
took place. The numbers bein; in favour of Nies as.
Itainsk,w, Savage, and Charles, Mr. Wells deci,j -„is
intention of going to the poll on St. Thomas's- •
The inquest and other officers having then been Cl10;tf:.
a vote of thanks was given to the Chairman, an;;
i. )1
0 ~?.
meetinglswated.
PASSING. FORGED NOTES.—
eserdav hat
a formationwas received at Marylebone pri.lice.nfli, e that
notes, number of well executed forged titre and te , '
notes, purporting to be of the Bag'. of Englarld, ;Pic: flint
circulation, particularly in the 'aorough of lqaryith ra,
to an enormous extent. Ye'sterday afterroJen two w°ell
dressed females entered '.'ne shop of M. Clive, hal-.r•r--
dasher, in Oxford-street ; after purchasing sonic tr.,ii g
articles, they tentkred the shopman a five poutol "'-
which, from their appearance, took him off his gu
I,,our,ei:
and they received the change, and left the shop ; shortl
afterwards the note was found to be a forgery. Anothfeyr
s•steuia.dopted, and which bus proved successful to the
Mr. and Lady Mary Ross have arrived in town
of depredators,
is by a young man, having the appearance!!
for the season.
of a grocer or eheeseniong,er's she f;
with al
or., without a bat, hastily entering a
for •1 aiitrr7
THE BEE.—A few mornings since, a person
stating it to be for his employer,' dingresg onl";(tvve-
residing in Bainsford, near Falkirk, who is in the habit
of kindling his fire with pests, was struck to observe a doors off. The notes arc supposed to have bees inanu-
large bee roll from the centre of a peat he had broken, factored abroad.
RIOT ZY TIIE GOTYNSMEN AT CAMERinGE..
in a state of stupor. In a short time symptoms of re-
suscitation appeared, and, like Dr. Franklin's Madeira On Sunda • evening, i. •
able inhabitarYits of I rumpinreton..treet, the Kin's-
4.,a-
-flies, it soon commenced to use its wings. Afraid of'
being stung, la's wife called out to put it into the fire. In rade, and Trinit -street in this town, were int • . i
%,,,
who, it
about one thousand c I the
the peat was a hollow oval cavity, the nocturnal dwelling b„ the yells , ,
)
.r...,1 to
nappears, had. deternr
of the lonely bee ; there appeared no entrance by which it Under Graduates
might have recently taken up this singular abode, and link themselves t'o ii.iisou'ltla d to hoot the Pro, jr,,,r, on
how long it had been there must vet a mystery.— duty for doing justice to one of their. body, v 'how they
1)&1 discovered in a state of beast' y iutox'.eatiou, and
Caledonian ..irercury.
INGENIOUS EVASION Or TAR GAM' LAWS. wit() had otherwise committed Vons-elf •in a ~,,t dis_
—The natives of Glenquaich have of late devised a graceful manner. They, therefrire, as is usual w believer
they
,have determined to col-wait P.ny nuisance and
very ingenious method of evading those rigid enact-
breach of the peace, immedi-At.tlyrsciongregated in great
merits, without subjecting themselves to any of' the
effectual and summary remedies" in their provisions, numbers, and assailed the l!'nrosee-nof
therom one end ~f the
and without having recourse to the use of any " gun, street to the otlir,r, makinD•most violent ~rid
sequence lar.guage, and hallooing to the very top of
gin-snare, trap, or other engine whatsoever." In con-
sequence of the long continued rains, the lands in that their voico. The inhabitants had, • mane instaneen,
district have been in more than an ordinary degree in- but just returned from their respective
tested by flocks of grouse, moor-fowls, and other game. ship. The police, durin, the wholeplaces of'
v4llr^ about with the rented u • period, were veal A.
A quantity of barley is for some time steeped in whit- i„g
key, and when completely saturated is copiously strewed ,for it is not
" lawful" for them to ingterferc itnlicohleiceUrnndr Grad jaLoi
around the stooks, and when the deluded birds descend of
from their native heath, instead of nibbling at the their own officers.--Buru Post.
sheaves, greedily devour the grain thus seductively laid
.e and
PUBLIC
GRATITUDE.—We copy th,e folio,-
in their way. The consequence is, that they soon be-
ing painful statement from the Bolton Fr,
...,. p ~„,. ,___
come oblivious, when they are easily taken and their
Amongst other cases which carae before
the Bu.ird of
necks twisted ; so that, like many of the " lords of the
Guardians on Wednesday last, was that of Betty Wood,
creation," they readily fall victims to the deleterious
the daughter of Samuel Crrimpton, t'ae inventor of the
of of intemperance.—Edinburgis Courant.
Mule who has long been neglected and deserted by her
RARE Frsit.—A very fine specimen of the
husband. We need, not remark upon the lamentahltt
" Maigre," Sciaona Aquila, Cuv., one of the largest of
circumstances of the daughter of man whose invea.
scaly fishes, was caught in the river Tyne, on Monday
tion may be sraul almost to havesreated Bolton, be-
last, by one of the men on board a steam-tug, with a
coining chargeable to the parish. She was in great clis-
boat hook. The specimen measured 3 feet 2 inches in
length. It has been purchased for the Natural History tress, a-4 has lung suffered great privations. 'We •
think subscription for her benefit would come with a
Society, and is now in course of preservation for the
Newcastle Museum. This is the fifth specimen recorded exceeding good grace from the large mill-owners 'of the , town, whose mills arc filled with the machines het father
as having been taken on the British shores.--Veweastlc
invented, and many of whom have his bust pi•aced in
Journal.
conspicuous part of theirlh establishme_nits.
l'-'he war'.ted
The Muirkirk Iron Company has four blast
three shillingsntoeriabe r
mt.?.og.outeor: i-ir,:iiester tr., beg
furnaces, three of which are in blast, with an average I something tro the large , mill owners . t,tere, to enahic, 1
prodoce of about forty tons of bars weekly, with the
. her to buy a mangle, and aould agP.in apply 1
o
capability of extending to •
100 tons, without increase f
Board to assist her for the same pqr p 0 sin , f to the 1;
power.—Edinburgh Courant.
`Pty .r she had 4
The climate of Britain, so remarkable for fickle-
-0 RON.
:ascertained what her success wool'', b
file three shillings were granted e ,lanchester.
The barrels
nets of temperature, has given rise to an infinitude of
.BRONZING OF POLISHE- I
...he eye of the sportsman from tit; '
ingenious inventions for the protection of those who arc
e bronzed and .. • li
occasionay/'
constitutionally predisposed to suffer in health from of fowling pieces and rifles ay
Flare
rou
ta polished_T metal, and to protect the surface
such causes : but, while every other part of the human varnished, to relieve
frame is, by some laudable application of the arts to ma-
nufacture, rendered impervious to weather, the face n- ut
,f.roosni.s
mades ing. 1 . • in? . vim used for browning the bar-
male mixir?g, nitric acid of spe& gravitiv
‘sown weight of spirit of nitric ether, of ar... '.-.
still remain exposed ; and the peculiar delicacy of the:fe- 1
1 ‘),'v,ith i
coh-01, and tincture of rnuriate of iron ; and adding ',A)
male complexion undoubtedly undergoes great, thoa: h
that
weightniixtuhre a quantity
gradual, chanke from the action of excess, either of he, t
or cold, upon its surface ; in this instance, Rowland'sof sulphate of copper equal in
tto
Tt e nitric acid and etherous spirit taker, to..
i,:-erelie.r..
Kalydor affords the so much-desired and valuable protec-
he sulphate must bc dissoltebd in water be-
y ; maintaining, unimpaired, that peculiar brilliancy
of tint admired beyond all other possessions ; and, as i? being added ; and the whole he'ing dilut with
a preservative,
is equally efficacious, whether against the b
about ten times its weight of water, it is to lie bottled
injurious degree of heat felt in crowded assemblies, or up
.for use. This liquid most bra applied '
exposure to harsh winds, and the low temperature of the with a rag to the clear loy friction
iarreL, which must then
ru
bbed with a hard brush ; processes to be alternated
winter season.
ZOOLOGICAL Socirrv.—At the ordinary two or three tirnes. The. barrel shout a be afterwards
evening, IN" H. Lloyd, Esq , in dipped in boi.ring water rendered feebly alkaline with
meeting on Tuesday .
the chair, there was exhibited on the table a largo col- carhonare of potash or soda, well dried, burnished, and
1 A I heat * , i
lection of marine 1 reductions, from Kangaroo Isiano, , "d slightly for receiving several coats of tin-smith's
South Australia, forwarded by Mr. Harvey. Mr, • '-acquer, consisting of a solution of shellac in alcohol,
dragon's blood.—Magazine V Science.
Waterhouse next presented to the meeting a tabular coloured with
view of the geographical distribution of the rodeai ' 1 LICENSED .... VICTUALLERS' PROTECTION SO-.
One peculiarity in their character was, that tl-,,
Wednesday, pursuant to advertisement, the sivill
great'lt 1 CIETY. mass of South American rodents belong
general annual meeting of this Society was held at th
~. to a section I e distinct from that of the old world.
A letter was readn ' Crown and Anchor Tavern, Strand. '
Ile rile
fro from Dr. Weissenborn, aceL,„panying two specimens of ' was respectably attended. The secretary
read
the black varlet of ':ne German hamster, which he pre. the report, which was received w'ab a zener i
.----• Al expres-
sented to rue Society. Professor Owen read a paper sion of satisfaction. After the. re-election o•,/ the mem-
on the anatomy of the biscacha, a small animal from hers of the Committee, tl7,c apoointmen:c of auditors,
Buenos Ayres, which has been for some vears in the ! and some other busin',:ss was dispose'', of, the meeting
gardens of the society ; and also a communication from broke up. We ore glad to see, fr.orm the report, Chat
Professor Rudolph Wagner, on the reproductive power the funds of 11".,e Society great], -
4, exceed the receipts of
of torne of the lower animals, last Year,
P...0......P.....•,•w0.......,.................--,