Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1890-04-16

stances. as we'll as wine and vinegar. Cell
sius tells MS of arrow and animal poisons,
and advises to suck the wounds and use trri-
tating substances. Scribonious LaRus ad-
vises the use of fever clover, which, how
ever, must be gathered with the left hand
before sunrise, against the venomous bites OF
snakes. Against mushroom or fungus poll
son he advises vinegar diluted with water,
and honey. Andromachos of Crets, pny-
sician to Nero, was in possession OF an anti
dote which he called s'Galeno" because
poisons: Sabina, rhus, VOLTS milk, pop
pies, lolch, brick apple. bitter-sweet, bel
lsdonns, night shadow, andragors, aco-
mite, cioutus, taxus, nerium, poisoned mush.
rooms, daphne, white and black, elatarium
and colquinte. He mentions several metal
lie poisons, such as zinc, lime, cooper salt,
preparations of lead and mercury. The
collection of the elder Plinius contains also
number of mineral, vegetable and animal
poisons.
From the principal of the Roman physi-
clans, Galenus, we are in possession of three
distinct treatises concerning the use and an
tidotes of different poisons. With the de-
cline of the Roman empire the progress of
became a close and diligen. study of the
Arabs, who followed up the Greek researches
and added great deal of valuable informa-
ton. The Arab physician Geber, who
lived about the close of the sew
snth century, already knew of
the 1cauterizing sublimate, the red
precipitate, the aqua and king fortis, lapis
infernalis or argentum nitricum. Rhazes
used arsenic and opium in severe cases of
dysentery. AS an antidote against the most
deadly poiaons he advises mixture of sugar
and oil of almonds. Among the different
writer's who wrote about poisons and their
antidotes, Avicenna the younger, Serapion
and Averrhoes are to be mentioned. In
Christian Europe, where science was COM
pletely at a standstill, ths practice of medi-
cine was entirely in the hands of the monks,
who, however, used but spiritual means,
such as faith cure, laying on of hands, say
ing prayers, amounting with oil, holy water,
etc. All poisoned cases were treated the
same.
Numerous were the murders committed
through poison during the middle ages.
Even the holy wafer at communion became
the means to accomplish this object. Pope
Victor died in 1868 from the effect of poison
which was administered to him in the holy
communion wine. Christopher I, king of
Denmark, and Henry VII, emperor of Ger
many, were poisoned while partaking of the
Lords supper. Henry, duke of Breslau,
died from poison which his physician adj
ministered to him in dose of medicine. It
is said Duke Albreoht of Austria was saved,
after all other means had been tried, by be-
ing strung up by his feet, whereupon the
deadly mixture ran out of his mouth, nose,
ears and eyes. The newly elected Roman
Emperor Gunther of Schwartzburg was
poisoned by his physician, Frsidank, in 134O.
Frsidank had, however, to test the medicine
first, and died within three days, while the
emperor, who had thrown up the greater part
of the medicine, survived after six months
sickness.
The punishment during the middle ages
for committing murder through poison dir
fered in the different states. The old Bava-
rians and other German tribes punished the
delinquents by making them pay large sum
of money. The Salic laws had different fines
for different cases. 1t depended altogether
whether the person survived or not. The
Anglo Saxons punished the wife who had
poisoned her husband if she could not find q
champion who would prove her innocence in
fair combat. The punishment was to be
roasted on red hot iron. King Roger of
Sicily punished all those with death that
kept poison for sale or gave any information
regarding the same. Emperor Frederick II
signed decree that all those who were in
for medical purposes should be put to death
by hanging. Whosoever should throw taxus
or other poisoned vegetable matter into any
river or lake, to stun or kill fish, should be
imprisoned with bail and chain for period
of one year In Turin all women convicted
of murder had to do penanee in public. The
council of Avignon passed decree of excom
munication on all those that sold or gave
poison, or were associated with murder COM
mitted through poison. During the middle
ages, all those convicted of murder through
poison were burned alive. Charles v signed
q decree in 1868 which contains this article:
"Whosoever shall injure another with poison
shall suffer death at the wheel. If a woman
commit the offense, she shall first be subject
to torture and then drowned. And as a
warning to others, they shall be put on the
rack and tortured according to the offense
committed"
From the middle ages we have still few
good works about poisons, which, however,
show some of the ignorant methods of that
time. The most noted physicians, such as
Paracelus, used different poisons to restore
their patients to health, such as mercury,
etc. Paracelus first used preparations OF
lead and arsenic outwardly. At the same
time they tried again to discover antidotes,
as we'll as animals, while scientists like Con-
rad Gesner experimental with different
poisons on themselves. Under Pope Glenn
ems VII aconitum napellus was tried on two
highway robbers. Ferdinand of Austria in
structed his physicians to give all those SEN
fenced to death dose of aconite and arsenic
and then antidotes in order to learn their
value. William of Hessia, in 1850, in pres
ence of his physicians, made several trials
with apoeynum in order to try his famous
antidote, which was known as terra silesica.
Murder throug ii poison was considered at
that time by the upper classes to be an easy
and very simple method to rid themselves of
anybody they chose. Among those that are
noted for committing murder through poison
on noted personages are Pope Alexander VII
and his son Cesare Borgia. Having invited
the richest cardinals to feast in order to
poison them, they received, by mistake, wine
out of the poisoned bottle and perished with
the rest. Philip II of Spain was in posses
sion of a poison which he called "Requiescat
In pace" He had a dose of it administered
to Pope Plus v. Lucretia Borgia tried to
excel her brother Cesare in poisoning. The
poison they used was said to have been pre-
pared from cantharides and vegetables,
but was nothing more or less than
arsenic. Catherine of Medici and her son
produced the poison they used from vegeta-
bles. Medical science made considerable
progress through Hieronymus Cardanus and
Ambrosius Pareus, who commenced Disco
tion and obtained great deal of valuable
information by that means.
With the year 1919 commenced new era
in the science of medicine, for, at that time,
William Harvey first published his famous
treatise on the circulation of blood. Infu-
sion and TRANSMISSION were soon practiced on
men and beasts. The injecting different
poisons into the blood was practiced
to some extent The time had now
arrived when the moat prominent
physicians protested against the
restriction of the use of poison for medical
purposes. They succeeded and the laws were
repealed. and the use of all poisons was lefi
to their discretion. But in spite of all the
progress that had been made during the