Sunday 11 March 2012

1st March - 10th March in Victorian Edinburgh


3rd March 1873
Cab Driver, John McDonald was accused of the crime of writing and sending a
threatening letter to a person in Edinburgh for the purpose of extorting money.
McDonald pleaded not guilty but after evidence had been given the jury unanimously
found him guilty and he was sentenced to six months imprisonment.

8th March 1869
Tonic wines, such as quinine wine and pepsine wine were very popular in
this era and pharmacists were permitted to prepare and sell them. Pepsine
wine was thought to be particularly useful due to pepsin being a naturally
occurring enzyme which helps digestion. There were many products such as
this which were thought to be good for health, including cocoa wine, which
contained half a gram of cocaine per fluid ounce. These ‘wines’ however
very much tasted like a medicine rather than a pleasant drink.



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