Read it through once

Such trials at one time were customary in almost every part of the world. They were supposed to be perfectly just, so that no man could be held guilty of the death of those who succumbed. In practice, however, they were almost invariably corrupt. The _Tanghinia venenifera_ of Madagascar was regularly used in ordeals, and is probably still employed by certain tribes. The seeds are exceedingly poisonous, but, if the authorities wish the accused person to escape, a strong emetic is mixed with the powdered seeds, and the poison has no time to act. This, however, is seldom the case, for in any savage nation no one who is popular and in good esteem with the king or other people in authority is at all likely to be accused. The fact of his being accused means in most cases that he is already condemned to die. Another ordeal plant is the Calabar Bean (_Physostigma venenosa_), found in West Africa. The plant is a climber belonging to the _Leguminosæ_, and the seeds, which are about an inch in diameter, are very deadly. The seed is conspicuously marked by the long, dark, sunken scar, where it was attached to the pod. Besides being exceedingly poisonous, it has also a curious effect upon the pupil of the eye, which is contracted by this drug.[107]