Cases of poisoning. With remarks / By Douglas MacLagan.

  • Maclagan, Douglas, Sir, 1812-1900.
Date:
1849
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Cases of poisoning. With remarks / By Douglas MacLagan. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    18/34 page 16
    she again resolved to destroy herself, and for this purpose sent one of her sons to a laboratory to purchase a pennyworth of sugar of lead, the whole of which she dissolved in water, and swallowed be¬ fore going to bed. The boy was instructed to say that the sugar of lead was to be applied to a sore ; the quantity furnished to him was half an ounce; it was wrapped in paper, and labelled u Sugar of lead. Poison.” This paper she put into her pocket, after swallowing the drug. During the night and following morning, she was sick, and vomited, but suffered no other inconvenience. On rising next morning, Sunday 4th July, she threw out the vomitings, and, as she slept in a separate apartment from her hus¬ band, he was not aware of what she had done. She then prepared coffee for her own and her husband’s break¬ fast. He drank two or three cupfuls of the coffee, she herself drank two cupfuls at the same time, and another after he had finished his meal. This interruption to her breakfast, arose from his having reproached her with being more active at taking her meat, than in attending to her household duties. This was the be¬ ginning of a fresh altercation, in the course of which she remarked, that had she been that morning where she intended, she would not have been there to bear his abusive language, and thereupon she showed him the paper marked “ sugar of lead, poison,” and told him of her suicidal attempt. He made no further remark at the time than that he did not believe she had attempted suicide, and he left the house. Hb went up to the house of his brother, who lived above him* and told him of what his wife said she had done, and then said to him that he felt unwell, and believed that he had himself got the poison. His brother advised him, if this were the case, to go to the laboratory and procure a vomit. He accordingly went to the chemist’s, showed the labelled paper, again expressed his belief that he had got the poison, and was accordingly fur¬ nished with a scruple of ipecacuan, and a grain and half of tartar emetic, with directions to return in half an hour if it did not ope¬ rate. He went home, mixed the emetic in water in presence of his wife, and carried it into an adjoining room, where he said he swal¬ lowed it. He then went up again to his brother’s house. The emetic said to have been taken by him, not having operated, nor produced even an appearance of nausea, he was advised by his bro¬ ther and father to go back to the laboratory again, which he ac¬ cordingly did, but not for more than an hour after the time when he got the first emetic. The druggist’s assistant on this occasion asked him if he u felt a pain in his bowels, and a sweet metallic taste, and if he felt sick,” when he said he felt the pain in his bowels, and a slight taste, but not sick. At this moment a medi¬ cal man, Dr Hutton, happening to pass, was asked to give him the benefit of his advice. Millar, according to the druggist’s statement, did not seem apprehensive of himself, nor did he appear to be suffer¬ ing ; when, however, Dr Hutton came in, he seemed “ a little
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