Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1858-11-03
Fatal Mistake.-TWo Babes Lost.


On Saturday, about room, heart-rendiu5
misfortune happened in the family of Wm.
NJ Gold, engineer at the Pearl Mills, re-
siding on Western avenue, Alleg ghcny The
wife of Mr. Gold is the mother of twins. not
yet two months old. For few days past
they have been troubled with cholic, and the
doctor prescribed very common remedy
paregoric. On Saturday they were very rest
less, and Mrs. Gold. previous to preparing
dinner, took the phial containing the pare
goric, Gas she thought) aud gave each Of tho
babes portion of the contents The previ-
Gus evening she had administered to them
five drops each, which failed to quiet them.
and she determined chen to increase the dose,
pouring 1t into teaspoon, without counting
the drops. She then placed the babes in the
crib, and paid no particular attention to
them for some time. Their unusual quiet
ness attracted her attention. and she 0 bsery:
ed langor and extreme drowsincss, which
greatly alarmed her. She fled for neigh
Dor woman, who Immediately began to IN
quire what she had given the children. The
mother replied that it was paregoric, and
upon turning to the phial, she was Mortified
at finding the parcgoIlc and laudanum phials
side by side. She then remembered that
she had placed the laudanum there after
after having applied some of it to her fingers
| which she had burnt the same day An cx-
animation convinced her that she had given
her babes laudanum instead of paregoric,
and she cried out in the agony of despair,
the. she had poisoned her darling babes
| DR.. Parchment was summoned but owing to
the length of time which had elapsed, aud
the large quantity Of the drug administered,
(abous twenty-five drops each) he at once
pronounced their case utterly hopeless
Every means were resorted to, in order to
keep the little sufferers Misunderstanding,
plnching, and such like infections. TLey
were thus prevented from passing into the
catamose state, but violent spasms super.
vened. and they continued to suffer III this
way until Sabbath morning, when they gra-
duully fell into lethargy, in which condi-
tion they remained until evening. The brain
of one of them became affected very much.
and it lay motionlcss, as if in death with its
eyes open. The other rested apporently,
with the eyes closed, as in sleep This NAV
3e accounted for f.om the fact that one Of
them, soon after the accident, was subjected
to warm bath, whilst the other was put
into cooling bath. When the physician
found them, the poison had taken sue. a
hold upon the system, that the stomach
pump was not applied.
The distress OF the family is painful in the
extreme, aud the mother is almost derancei,
harrassed as sheis between hope and despair.
We cannot refrain frou, alluding, however
painful it may be, to the gross recklessness
SO frt tquently displayed on the part of moth
crs, in administering medicine to children
The unfortunate mother is not to be censured
in this case, as it was purely accidental
But she was totally ignorant of the properties
; ofparegorIc, or she would not have attempted
to guess at dose of fifteen drops, which was
all that she intended to give. According tc
her measurement, she actually gave twenty.
five drops. Even that quantity of paragoric
would have had most mischievous effec
f upon those infants, to say the least it. Th,
same deadly narcotic, (opium) predomnate
in both these medicines, the dffertnce being
only in degree; and they should never be ad
ministered unless under the sanction ofa ply
sician-and then in exact accordance with hi
directions. Better far to pnt up with crying
and peeVishness in children, than to dru!
them necessarily, even under advice of doc
} tor. In nine cases out of ten, the relief i:
but temporary, and they are druggcd to thei
, subsequent injury. Press.
Indian Battle in Oregon Territory-Thc
War Ended.
~