Looking into the compartment now, I found it empty.
"I at once instituted a search, and discovered the bottle left out on a shelf.

For the first time in my life, I had been guilty of inexcusable carelessness.

I had not looked round me to see that I had left everything safe before quitting the room.

The poor imbecile wretch had been attracted by the color of "Alexander's Wine," and had tasted it (in his own phrase) "to see if it was nice." My inquiries informed me that this had happened at least thirty-six hours since! I had but one hope of saving him--derived from experiments on animals, which had shown me the very gradual progress of the deadly action of the poison.
"What I felt when I returned to the suffering man, I shall not attempt to describe.

You will understand how completely I was overwhelmed, when I tell you that I meanly concealed my own disgraceful thoughtlessness from my brethren in the University.