Mr. Toynbee, the g reat aurist, was found dead in his
consulting room this day week, under circumstances which appeared to suggest, re or we calculated to suggest, that he had been making experi- ments on the effects of inhalation of chloroform and hydoeqyanic acid on the ear for scientific purposes. He had asked his servant to leave him undisturbed after luncheon, and when the man came in to announce apatient he found him lying down. The patient did not stay two minutes, was probably asked to postpone his visit, and said he was coming again on Monday. On the call of another patient the servant re-entered the room, and found Mr. Toynbee lying with cotton wool over his nose and mouth. Some of this had been -steeped in chloroform, and apparently also some in prussic (hydrocyanic) acid. Physicians were called in, and tried artificial respiration, but,in vain: There wereslips of paper about the room, and-some reference in them to an experiment of the previous Thursday, when the servant said that his master had been very sick, and given him his neak-tie and -waistcoat to sponge. The coroner's jury returned a verdict of " Accidental death, caused while prosecuting experiermes, by inhaling"). com- pound of chloroform and prussic acid." Whatwasthe ohjeet of the experiments does.not appear. The Lanett reekons Mr. Topehee with Dr. Cluistisou, who experimented rashly on the Calabar bean, and Sir James Simpson, who was nearly a victim to anaesthetics, as a " scientific martyr."
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