That it had received and taken calomel, but that, having eaten a small piece of pickle shortly before, the conjunction of the vegetable acid with the calomel had formed, in the child's stomach, a precipitate of corrosive sublimate, from which it had died.
These were all argued with great learning.

During the trial the box containing the balance of the pills, which the defence contended were calomel, unexpectedly turned up.

It has always been one of the greatest regrets of the writer's life that he did not then and there challenge the defendant to eat one of the pills and thus prove the good faith of his defence.
This was one of the very rare cases where a chemical analysis has been conducted in open court.

The chemist first tested a standard trade morphine pill with sulphuric acid, so that the jury could personally observe the various color reactions for themselves.

He then took one of the contested pills and subjected it to the same test.