A  curious  illustration  of  the  risks  attending
their  use  may  be  cited  from  the  '  Medical
Times  and  Gazette'  of  April,  1854,  which
states  that  some  loaves  found  to  contain
arsenic  were  discovered  on  inquiry  to  have  got
the  dangerous  intruder  from  having  been
allowed  to  stand  on  slielves  freshly  painted  a
bright  green  colour.  Arsenical-coloured  wafers
may  be  pronounced  free  from  danger,  so  long
as  they  are  kept  out  of  the  reach  of  children ;
and  although  the  arsenical  vapours  given  off
by  burning  a  green  wax  taper  would  not  be
sufficient  to  induce  toxic  results,  the  fact  of
the  extreme  sensibility  of  some  people  to  the
action  of  this  poison,  when  taken  in  by  the
lungs,  renders  the  use  of  these  tapers  a  very
objectionable  one,  particularly  if  they  are
generally  employed  in  a  household.  The
burning  of  wax  candles,  coloured  with  arsenical
green,  is,  of  course,  still  more  strongly  to  be
condemned,  because  from  its  superior  mass,
when  compared  with  the  taper,  the  candle  gives
off  a  greater  amount  of  the  poisonous  f  nmes.
