The Portland daily press., 1897-08-12
(From the Philadelphia Times

| them and absorb them in seeming safety
for long period, although eventually
! they never fail to exact the penalty that
| There is an interesting article on this
subject in an old copy of Harper's Maga-
zine bearing date Of 1854. 1t was based
upon The fact that an interesting trial
| for murder had taken place in Austria
The prisoner, Anna Alexander, was ac-
quilted by the jury, who in the various
questions put to the witnesses in order to
discover whether the murdered man
Lieut.. Matthew Warsel, was a poison eat
er or not, deduced somo very curious evil
dence relating to this class of persons 1t
| is not generally known that eating poison
is actually practised in more countries
than one. At the time of the trial re-
ferred to much interesting information
regarding poison eating was gathered by
a physician, DR.. 7. Won Tschudi. He
prepared an account of his investigation,
in part as follows:
Gin some districts of Lower Austria
and in Styria, especially in those noun
| famous parts bordering on Hungary,
| there prevails the strange habit of eating
arsenic The peasantry in particular are
given to it. They obtain it under the
name of hedri from the travelling huck-
sters and gatherers of herbs, who on their
side get it from the glass blowers or pur-
chase it from the COW doctors, quacks, or
rhountebanks. The poison eaters have a
| twofold aim in their dangerous enjoy
ment, one Of which is to obtain fresh
healthy appearance, and to acquire a GER
tain degree of embonpoint. On this ac-
count therefore, gay village lads and
lasses employ the dangerous agent, that
they may become more attractive to
each other; and it is really astonishing
with what favorable results their endeav-
ors are attended, for it is the youthful
poison eaters that are, generally speak
ing, distinguished by blooming complex
ions and by an appearance of exuberant
health. Out of many examples 1 select
the following: A farm servant who
worked in q COW house was thin and pale,
but nevertheless well and healthy. This
girl had lover whom she wished to en-
chain still more firmly; and in order to
obtain more pleasing exterior she had
recourse to the we'll known means, and
| swallowed every week several doses of
| arsenic. The desired result was obtained,
and in few months she was much fuller
in the figure, rosy-cheeked and in short,
quite according to her lovers taste In
order to increase the effect she was so
rash as to increase the dose of arsenic,
and fell victim to her vanity She was
poisoned and died an agonizing death.
"'The number of deaths in consequence
of the immoderate enjoyment of arsenic
is not inconsiderable, especially among
the young. Every priest who has the
care of souls in whose districts where the
abuse prevails could tell of such TRACE
dies, and the inquiries I have myself
made on the subject have opened out
very singular details. Whether it arise
from fear of the law, which forbids the
unauthorized possession of arsenic, or
whether it be that an inner voice pro-
claims to him his sin, the arsenic cater
always conceals as much as possible the
employment of this dangerous means.
Generally speaking, it is only the confess
sional death bed that raises the veil from
the terrible secret The second object the
poison eaters have in view is to fmake
them, as they express it, better winded;' ,
that is, to make their respiration easier
when ascending the mountains. When
ever they have far to go and to mount d
considerable height they take a minute
morsel of arsenic and allow it gradually
to dissolve. The effect is surprising, and
they ascend with ease heights which
otherwise they could climb only with dis
tress to the chest. The dose of arsenic
with which the poison eaters begin con-
sists, according to the confessions of some
of them, of piece the size of lentil,
which in weight would be rather less
than half a grain. To this quantity,
which they take fasting several mornings
in the week, they confine themselves for a
considerable time, and then gradually
and very carefully increase the dose, ac
cording to- the effect produced.
ga peasant living in the parish OF
A--g, a strong, hale man of upward of
60, takes at present at every dose piece
of about the weight of four grains. For
more than forty years he has practised
this habit, which he inherited from his
father, and which he in his turn will be-
queath to his children. 1t is well to OBJ
serve that neither in these nor in other
poison eaters is there the least trace of
symptoms of chronic arsenical poison
ing never show themselves in individuals
who adapt the dose to their constitution,
even although that dose be considerable.
1t is not less worthy. OF remark, however,
that when, either from inability to OBJ
tain the drug or from any other cause.
the perilous indulgence is stopped, symp-
toms of illness are sure to appear, which
have the closest resemblance to those pro-
duced by poisoning from arsenic. These
symptoms consist principally in feeling
of general discomfort, attended by per-
feet indifference to all surrounding per-
sons and things, great personal anxiety,
and various distressing sensations arising
from the digestive organs, want of appe-
tite, a constant feeling of the stomach
being overloaded at early morning, an
unusual degree of salvation, a burning
from the pylorus to the throat, cramp
like movement in the pharyn;xI,, pains in
the stomach, and especially difficulty of
breathing. For all these symptoms there
is but one remedy-a return to the enjoy
ment of arsenic.
According to inquiries made on the
| subject, it would seem that the habit of