by his defeat, again the tenant of the Tombs issued his orders; but this time he wrote for laudanum. The message was again intrusted to his servant, who so far fulfilled his wishes as to obtain from a druggist the required potion. But the conscience of the servant proved too sensitive for his task, and again he betrayed his trust by handing the package to the vigilant Warden. Notwithstanding the infidelity of the servant and the vigilance of the keepers, the prisoner was one day found dying of narcotism, and an empty vial labelled McMunn's Elixir, concealed in his room, revealed the cause of death. The ardent Coroner pursued his inquiries, intent on learning how the poison was smuggled into the cell in order that he might fix the crime upon some responsible agent. The Physician to the Prison is naturally suspected, but he clears himself by deposing that he never gave deceased a dose of opium. The keepers had all maintained a vigilant watch over that particular cell, but had never seen a package passed surreptitiously through the grating, therefore they were free from suspicion. The learned Coroner summed up this mass of negative evidence, and the intelligent jury, enlightened as to their duties, retired, and after a short deliberation returned the following verdict:

"The deceased came to his death by the administration of creasote and a preparation of opium, taken for the purpose of self-destruction. Further, the Jury would recom

mend the proper authorities to place wire-netting, similar to that now in use on the lower corridor, on all the celldoors of the City Prison."

Thus stands revealed the thrice disgraceful fact, that poisons are so freely sold in this city, that a criminal lodged in prison for safe keeping to await his trial, can dictate to his waiter the kind of drug with which he will rid himself of life, and but for the treachery of the latter could obtain it. From the closely-locked and carefullyguarded cell of the murderer goes forth the written order for deadly poisons, and in large quantities; the druggist into whose hands it falls, with nimble fingers prepares the fatal draught, and asks not a question as to its destination. The prescription for strychnine would have been as quickly made up, and delivered at an ordinary drug store, as that for laudanum; though had the druggist paused and considered the purport of either, he would have read in as unmistakable characters as was written "to kill dogs," these terrible words, "TO KILL A MAN!" The remedy suggested in the verdict can by no means reach the evil. Vain are bolts and bars, wire-netting and vigilant sentinels, when the inmate of the Tombs determines upon self-destruction. He may not be able to accomplish the deed with knife, or razor, or hemp, but while druggists sell poisons as a common article of trade, the weapons of the suicide are at his command. No degree of vigilance or precaution on the part of keepers

can prevent his access to them; no wire-netting is so strong or so close that they will not be clandestinely placed within his grasp. If human hands can not convey them to him, "some bird of air" will be the messenger. If that Jury had done its duty, it would have gone directly to the source from which this class of crimes proceed. The druggist who sold the laudanum should have been charged with the violation of the law to regulate the sale of poisons, and properly proceeded against. Though the parties to this individual crime may not have been discovered, the true responsibility should have been fixed where it belongs, viz. upon the druggists who still continue to sell poisons, regardless of the law or the consequences of their acts. We know of no more needed reform than that which would forever prevent the sale of drugs as common articles of trade. Druggists of the character and qualification of those who dispense drugs in this city, can not be relied upon to faithfully execute any mere rule or regulation. There must not only be stringent laws regulating the sale of drugs, bụt these laws must be rigidly enforced.

2*

VI.

NOSTRUM ADVERTISING.

O

NE of the religious papers of New York, a few weeks ago, took to task a secular paper which claims to stand upon "great primal Christian truths," for presuming, with such professions, to admit into its advertising columns theatrical advertisements, whereby "the homes of Christian families" would be demoralized. It concluded its rebuke as follows:

"Now, if theatrical advertisements must go to the homes of Christian families, we say, let them be taken there simply as theatrical advertisements, and not by a messenger who professes to stand upon 'great primal Christian truths' in their distribution. We can not think that 'the time has come for a living Christianity' thus 'to assert itself.””

Presuming, from the confident tone of the editor, that his advertising sheet must be a model for a religious journal designed for the homes of Christian families, we glanced down its columns, and what was our amazement to find them crowded, not with notices of theatres, the least dangerous of all possible advertisements to the morals of families, but with the most disgusting and demoralizing notices of diseases, and the quack preparations adapted to them. Here is

"Dalley's Magical Pain Extractor" which is advertised to prevent and cure (in a list of thirtyeight different diseases), small-pox and cancer. Can the Editor plead ignorance of the utter and malicious falsity of this statement? Does he use Dalley's Pain Extractor to protect his own children from small-pox, or would he recommend a friend to try it? And yet he is willing to lend the pages of his professedly religious paper to introduce this bitter falsehood into "the homes of Christian families." And this paper the cunning charlatan selects because it is a messenger who professes to stand upon "great primal Christian truths" in the distribution of its advertisements. In an adjoining column of the same paper, under the startling title, "Health of American Women," appears the announcement of the Grafenberg Company, which we never fail to find in a paper professing to stand upon "great primal Christian truths" in the distribution of its advertisements. Is the Editor aware of the nature of the Græfenberg Marshall's Uterine Catholicon? Does he recommend it in his own family? Nay, dare he read that advertisement at his own fireside? We believe not. Again, we have Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup for Children Teething." The advertisement says, very truly, "Depend upon it, mothers, it will give rest to yourselves and relief to your infants." Thousands of mothers in this city are annually relieved of all further care of their infants through the magically soothing