Mandruzzato repeated his experiments on animals, and himself swallowed on two successive days two drachms and a half each day without sustaining any injury.[1]
Similar observations have been made by others also. Dr. Turner of Spanish Town, Jamaica, has informed me, that an attempt was made there by a negro to poison a whole family by administering pounded glass; but, although a large quantity was taken by seven persons, none of them suffered any inconvenience. Not long ago the occurrence of a similar case at Paris gave rise to a careful investigation of the whole subject by Baudelocque and Chaussier. A young man, Lavalley, married a girl who was pregnant by him; but it was agreed that she should live with her father till her delivery was over. A month after the marriage Lavalley invited his wife and father-in-law to dinner; and his wife ate heartily boiled pork, bloody-sausages, and roast-veal, and subsequently drank coffee with brandy in it. On returning home in the evening she became unwell, continued so all night, next morning was seized with violent pain in the stomach and vomiting, and died in convulsions. The period of her death is not mentioned in the report I have seen. A suspicion of poisoning having arisen after burial, the body was disinterred in forty-two days; and, although it was much decayed, black points and patches could be distinguished in many parts of the bowels, together with a quantity of broken down glass. The medical inspectors accordingly declared that she had died of poisoning with pounded-glass; and the husband was imprisoned. Baudelocque and Chaussier, who were consulted, ascribed the black patches to putrefaction or venous congestion, and declared that in whatever way the glass had got into the bowels, she had not died of poisoning with the substance, as pounded glass is not deleterious.[2] A similar opinion as to the properties of pounded glass was more lately given by Professor Marc, when consulted on a case of attempted poisoning, in which the person against whom the attempt was made felt the rough particles in his mouth while taking the second spoonful of soup in which the glass was contained.[3]
This opinion certainly appears to be in general true. At the same time instances are not wanting to render it probable, that pounded or broken glass is occasionally hurtful. Thus, passing over the more doubtful examples recorded by the older authors, we have the two following cases related by good authorities in the most modern times. One has been published by Mr. Hebb of Worcester. A child, eleven months old, died of a few days' illness in very suspicious circumstances. On Mr. Hebb being requested by the coroner to examine the body, he found the inside of the stomach lined with a tough layer of mucus streaked with blood; the villous coat was highly vascular,
