Sergeant Ballantine.—“From all you have heard of this case, what in your opinion was the cause of this lady’s death?”
Dr. Todd.—“I believe that her death was caused by the administration of some irritant poison, such as arsenic, antimony, or corrosive sublimate. The only natural disease that would account for the symptoms is what would be called acute dysentery.”
On cross-examination, Dr. Todd said:—
“I have never known any case or cases of early pregnancy of a woman of about forty to forty-five years of age in which there has been violent vomiting, violent diarrhœa, and severe dysentery, which no ordinary medicines would stop, and in which the life of the mother has only been saved by the abortion of the fœtus. No such cases have come under my cognizance. I think it possible that excessive vomiting and great diarrhœa may be caused by the early stage of pregnancy, and symptoms somewhat allied to those under which this lady died; but I think it quite impossible that pregnancy alone, in an early stage, or in any stage, could, produce extensive ulceration of the bowels. I think, where it is a doubtful case, it is conclusive evidence against the theory that the symptoms were caused by early pregnancy that you found such extensive ulceration as existed in this case.”
Dr. Buzzard, who had been a staff-surgeon in the Crimea, Dr. Copland, and Dr. Bowerbank, who had had great experience of acute dysentery in tropical climates, gave it as their opinion that the symptoms were not reconcileable with that disease, but were those of the presence of irritant poison. Dr. Babington, Physician to Queen Charlotte’s Lying-in Hospital, who had attended more than 2,000 women in their confinement, did not consider that the death was in any way attributable to the fact of her being in an incipient state of pregnancy. On cross-examination, whilst admitting that cases of violent vomiting and diarrhœa in early pregnancy are recorded, said that he did not remember any one of so severe a character as to endanger life; that he did not think that the lady’s advanced stage of life had anything to do with it; that it was a complication generally at a later period of pregnancy; and that a first pregnancy between 40 and 45 years of age was not more critical in the early stage. On re-examination, with reference to six cases of dysentery, in 1841, in which he had made post-mortem examinations, he said:—
“There was not the same amount of sloughing of the cæcum as in this case, nor destruction of the mucous membrane. The glands were in a different condition. In the dysentery cases, the glands were quite destroyed, and in three of the cases there was perforation of the intestine. The symptoms in all six were different to those in this case; there was no burning sensation of the throat.”
ANALYTICAL EVIDENCE.
Dr. Alfred Swaine Taylor.—“On the 1st of May,” said the witness, “Mr. Buzzard called on me, and brought me two bottles, which he said contained matters he wished me to examine. I took about two drachms from one of these bottles (No. 2), and having first examined the test and the vessel to be employed, and ascertained that they were pure, I then made the test, and discovered a metallic deposit on the copper wire, which, in my opinion, indicated the presence of arsenic or antimony; but I could not speak to the exact metal. I did not proceed further at that time, as I desired to have the authority of a magistrate. Bottle No. 2 was then resealed in my presence by Mr. Buzzard, and taken away by him with bottle No. 1. After he left, as I was told that it was necessary to do something to save the life of a living person, though it was Sunday, I proceeded with my experiment by boiling copper gauze in the remainder of the liquid in the tube, and on examining it with a microscope, saw appearances closely resembling metallic arsenic; and I then heated a portion of the gauze covered with metal in a tube, and obtained crystals of arsenic (wire gauze with the crystals on it produced). If you take the tube out, under the microscope the crystals are perfectly clear; in this little sediment, if you put it against a dark cloth, you will see a little ring of crystals—it is quite plain in the sun light. I subsequently applied the test of nitrate of silver and nitric acid to crystals obtained in the same way, and the result convinced me that they were composed of arsenic. Next day Dr. Buzzard brought back the bottles with the magistrate’s order. I then proceeded with the examination of both bottles, and the result perfectly satisfied me that I was correct in discovering arsenic in bottle 2. My calculation was that there must have been at least a quarter of a grain mixed with the four ounces of matter in bottle 2.[173] There was no trace of mercury, bismuth, or antimony, but I did discover the presence of copper by a subsequent test; but only such a trace of it as might be accounted for from the copper pill taken on the 29th. I examined the evacuation, and came to the conclusion that it was such as would pass from a person who had taken arsenic, and I immediately advised that the antidote for arsenic, hydrate of magnesia, should be administered. I subsequently examined the other bottle, and found that it did not contain any poison or any metallic matter whatever.
“On the 5th and 7th of May Inspector McIntyre brought me a portion of the viscera of a human being, which I subsequently submitted to chemical examination. The officer also gave me a number of bottles, and several pill boxes which I numbered, and subsequently some more. There were altogether twenty-eight; and on the 14th of May others which I also numbered. In none of the twenty-eight, omitting Nos. 5 and 21, did I discover anything at all necessary you should be acquainted with. I examined them for arsenic. I then examined the bottles containing the viscera:—first, the uterus, which I did not analyse, but agree with Mr. Barwell as to its impregnation; then the œsophagus, or gullet, in which there were indications of some cause of irritation, but no arsenic or antimony; then the stomach, containing yellowish fluid with blood, and found antimony in two distinct places in the small intestines; the middle portion of the small intestines contained the largest quantity, the other part was above and below; some was found above and below that and some in the cæcum; altogether the amount found in the stomach was very small. In one kidney and in the blood of the heart there were traces of antimony, and in the blood in the jar. I was assisted by Dr. Odling, and we came to the conclusion that the quantity did not exceed from a quarter to half a grain. I found the appearance of the stomach and cæcum such as Mr. Barwell has described. I then examined the medicines prescribed by Dr. Julius, and found them to contain the ingredients of which they were represented to be composed. I then examined bottle No. 5, and found it to contain 355 grains of chlorate of potash, and free from anything else. That bottle has been accidentally broken in half. I then examined another bottle, No. 21, which appeared to contain a clear watery liquid of a saline taste, and I tested a portion of the contents by Reintsch’s test, and upon first trying the copper it was entirely consumed.[174] I made a further examination which led me to conclude that there was arsenic in the solution, but it turned out that I was mistaken, and that it did not contain either arsenic or antimony, and that the arsenical appearances originally produced came from the copper gauze. By the destruction of the gauze the arsenic in it was set free, and this destroyed the effect of the experiment. The quantity of arsenic that I discovered, I should say, was less than half a grain. In the experiment I made with this bottle, the arsenic was deposited by myself. Dr. Odling also came to the same conclusion—that the bottle contained arsenic, and we both stated that fact in our examination before the magistrates and the coroner, but we were, of course, mistaken. We believed, no doubt, at the time, that the arsenic we found was in the bottle which contained chlorate of potash—a cooling mixture. I have used the same description of gauze for many years, and have never before found arsenic in it. I shall certainly continue to use it, but shall take care not to do so with chlorate of potass.”