Mr. Bond.—“The ventricles and auricles were both empty.”
Mr. Williams.—“Can you produce any case on record where such a symptom as that has appeared in poisoning by aconitia?”
Mr. Bond.—“No, I cannot produce any case on record of poisoning by aconitia.”
On re-examination, the witness declined to speak more positively on this point, on the ground that he was a surgeon, and therefore had not had experience in the pathology of such cases. His only experience in poisoning by alkaloids had been in a case of strychnia. In reply to the Judge, he admitted “that other vegetable poisons, even a strong solution of oil of mustard, would produce the same congestion of the stomach, and the same yellow marks as had been found; that a vegetable alkaloid would pass within a minute from the stomach into the blood, and that it would be more likely to be found in the liver, kidneys, and urine, than in the heart; he did not know whether strychnia had been found in the heart when not discoverable in the blood and the urine.”
ANALYTICAL EVIDENCE.
Dr. Thomas Stevenson, Lecturer on Medical Jurisprudence and Chemistry at Guy’s Hospital, and Examiner in Forensic Medicine at the London University, after enumerating the various matters handed to him and Dr. Dupré by Mr. Bond for analysis,[204] and stating that the methods of it were arranged with his colleague, the manual operations carried out by both of them, and the results of those performed by Dr. Dupré examined by himself, gave the following evidence, which must be reported in full.
“The bottle marked ‘A’ contained portions of the liver, spleen, and kidney. To that was applied Stas’s process. I obtained an alkaloidal extract which contained a trace of morphia, and which, placed on the tongue, gave a faint sensation like that produced by aconitia. I reserved that for experiments. To the bottle ‘2,’ which contained part of the bowels, large and small, I applied the same process. I obtained an extract which I have done nothing further with—that is to say, I have not tested the extract. No. 3 contained a fluid, the contents of the stomach, 3½ ozs. This was treated in a somewhat similar way. The fluid contained a raisin and a piece of fruit like the top of a carrot or an apple. From that fluid I obtained, by Stas’s process, an alkaloidal extract, which was distinctive, and produced a very faint sensation, like that of aconitia. When placed on the tongue, burning of the lips was produced, though the extract did not touch the lips. Burning, tingling—a kind of numbness peculiar but difficult to define; a salivation creating a desire to expectorate, a sensation at the back of the throat of swelling up, and this was followed by a peculiar seared sensation of the tongue, as if a hot iron had been drawn over it, or some strong caustic placed on it. I reserved that alkaloidal extract also for physiological experiments. No. 4 D contained a human stomach, and 7 ozs. of spirits added to preserve the stomach. I observed that the stomach was reddened, I think from congestion, in the region of the greater curvature, and posteriorly. At one part there was a little pit as if a blister or inflammatory effusion of lymph had broken. From the stomach and liquid in the bottle I made an extract by Stas’s process, and obtained an alkaloidal extract. That I reserved; but I tasted it, and it had no particular taste that I could recognize. Next was No. 5 E, containing the urine, 6 ozs. I opened it in Dr. Dupré’s presence. He found that 4 ozs. of urine had had 2 ozs. of spirit added to preserve it. I made an extract from a portion of that liquid—three-fourths. I obtained an alkaloidal extract which contained a trace of morphia. By a further process I obtained more morphia, but the first alkaloid I referred to was more than could be accounted for by the morphia I obtained. Some of this extract was placed upon my tongue. It produced the effects of aconitia, which I have already described, in a marked degree, and a peculiar burning sensation extending downwards towards the stomach.”
By the Judge.—“I have 50 or 80 alkaloids in my possession, and I have tasted most of them.”
The Solicitor-General.—“How long did the effects last?”
Witness.—“About four hours—not all the effects, but the burning on the tongue did. I made an experiment on about one-third of the urine. I injected it beneath the skin of a mouse. The animal was obviously affected in two minutes. From that time it exhibited symptoms of poisoning, and died in 30 minutes. I made some experiments on mice from Morson’s aconitia, which I procured for the purpose. I injected some of that, after dissolving it, under the skins of several mice. It operated on the mice in a manner which was undistinguishable from the effect of the urine. The effects of the two I might say were ridiculously alike. Tartaric acid was previously used on a mouse in the same quantities and was found inoperative. I retained portions of the extract made from the liver, spleen, and kidneys, from the stomach, and from the contents of the stomach. All contained an alkaloid; two giving a slight taste of aconitia, and the third no taste. I then mixed together the alkaloidal extracts, Nos. 1, 3, and 4, and I injected it under the skin of a mouse, in the same manner, and it produced effects on the mouse, in nine minutes from that time, of severe symptoms of poisoning, and the animal died in 22 minutes. These symptoms were precisely similar to those produced by Morson’s aconitia. No. 6, the vomit, contained nearly ten ounces, or half a pint, of thick, pasty fluid stuff, with which also were spirits of wine. Dr. Dupré pointed out marks showing that to 5oz. of vomit 5oz. of spirit had been added. There was a good deal of solid matter in the vomit, which must have been of a solid character. I examined the solid portion and found it consisted of pieces of fat, a very small portion of the muscular fibre of some animal, pieces of onion, a little starch, probably that of wheat, a slice of candied peel like that put on the top of cake, a piece of apple pulp, raisins, and some pineapple, with just the odour of pineapple drops. I subsequently examined with the microscope the vomit again, the solid portions, to see if I could find anything corresponding to the root of aconite or the root of horseradish. I found neither. I made an extract from the vomit, and obtained an alkaloidal extract. The extract had no trace of morphia or of quinine. I applied it to the tongue with a very powerful result, such as that of aconitia. The severe forms of attack lasted for 6½ hours; it lasted for that time, though the effects did not then cease. I took 1-24th part for experiment on a mouse. I injected it into the back of a mouse. It was severely affected in 2½ minutes, the symptoms continuing till the time of its death, 15½ minutes after. Those symptoms were parallel with those of aconitia. In my judgment the vomit submitted to me contained a considerable quantity of aconitia.”