occasionally of £100. The then living descendants of Lords Amherst and Anson were written to by The Chemist and Druggist, but neither could give any information. It rather looks as if the fiction were concocted as an advertisement in the days when the electuary was a proprietary medicine, if it ever was.
The earliest formula traced in the correspondence referred to was given in Gray's Supplement, 1821. This ran:—Pulv. gum. guaiaci, i; pulv. rhei, ij; pulv. pot. bitart., 1 oz.; flor. sulph., 2 oz.; one nutmeg, and 1 lb. of honey. Of this, the dose was two table-spoonfuls night and morning. Sometimes pulv. pot. nit. is substituted for pulv. pot. bit.; probably a mistake of a copyist. In other formulas mustard appears instead of nutmeg; perhaps a similar slip for myristica. Treacle occasionally takes the place of honey, and the proportions of the ingredients vary considerably.
The Secretary of the Chelsea Hospital was good enough to take some trouble in reply to my inquiry to endeavour to trace this compound, but only negative results were attained. Dr. Thomas Ligertwood, the oldest living medical officer of the Royal Hospital, was appealed to, but he only knew of the remedy as "a very useful combination," and had never heard the story of Lord Amherst's purchase of the secret. He thought some information might be found in a work on the "Diseases and Infirmities of Old Age" by Dr. Daniel Maclachlan, a former Principal Medical Officer of Chelsea Hospital. That work (dated 1863) contains two allusions to the Chelsea Pensioner, but nothing about its history. Writing of Chronic Rheumatism the author says:—". . . The more stimulating diaphoretics and diuretics prove serviceable. Among these the preparations of guaiacum deserve the con-
