which is fully understood by them, where the risk is slight and the
profits sure, and no disquieting anxiety attends it. Such individuals
have a good digestion, and bear the marks of it. But with literary men,
officers of state, dealers in scrip, daring adventurers, and anxious
and ambitious projectors of improvements, with these and every other
brain-worn class of persons, the case is different. Dyspepsia is their
torment, and they exhibit deep traces of it in their lean frames and
hagard countenances. Yet are they much more select in their diet,
both as respects quantity, quality, and cooking, than the classes to
whom dyspepsia is unknown. This fact is notorious, and has been so for
centuries. Nor can it be attributed, I think, to any other cause but
excessive and deleterious cerebral irritation in the one case, and an
exemption from it in the other; and this cause seems sufficient to
solve the problem.”[58]

In denouncing active exertion of mind or body immediately after
eating, as inimical to digestion, it is not meant that we should go
to sleep, or indulge in absolute listlessness. A weak constitution
may require something like complete repose, but a person in ordinary
health may indulge in a leisurely saunter or pleasant conversation
not only without injury but with positive benefit; and perhaps there
is no situation in which digestion goes on so favourably as during
the cheerful play of sentiment in the after-dinner small-talk of a
well-assorted circle. The nervous stimulus sent to the stomach is
then of the most healthful and invigorating description, and ever the
dyspeptic, if on his guard against a heavy meal, forgets his woes
amidst the unwonted vigour of his functions.

It is true that thousands who habitually neglect the observance of
the condition here adverted to, continue to live and digest for years
without appearing to suffer much from their conduct. But it is not
less true that there are many more who bring wretchedness and disease
upon themselves and their offspring, in the vain attempt to counteract
the intentions of Nature, and that there are comparatively few even
of the former so happily constituted as to escape entirely unscathed.
Most frequently the evil consequences are only accumulating, and when
they are summed up at the end of years, the victim finds himself more
severely punished than he had ever expected to be. In this respect,
the consequence resembles that arising from breathing in a vitiated
atmosphere. The effect may not be perceptible for a time; but if God
has ordained a pure air to be best adapted for respiration, we have the
infallible authority of His omniscience for believing that one which
is vitiated _must_ be less wholesome, although His beneficence
has so constituted us, that the injury resulting from it is gradual
in its infliction, for the very purpose of giving us time to escape.
In like manner, if bodily and mental relaxation are favourable to
digestion, we have the same infallible guarantee that every departure
from them _must_ be in so far hurtful, however slowly the effect
may develope itself.

                              CHAPTER V.

                              ON DRINKS.

   Thirst the best guide in taking simple drinks--Thirst increased
   by diminution of the circulating fluids--The desire for liquids
   generally an indication of their propriety--Much fluid hurtful
   at meals--Most useful three or four hours later--The temperature
   of drinks is of consequence--Curious fall of temperature in the
   stomach from cold water--Ices hurtful after dinner--Useful in
   warm weather, when digestion is completed and caution used--Cold
   water more dangerous than ice when the body is overheated--Tepid
   drinks safest and most refreshing after perspiration--Kinds of
   drink--Water safe for every constitution--Wine, spirits, and
   other fermented liquors, too stimulating for general use, but
   beneficial in certain circumstances--Test of their utility.

On the subject of drinks two questions naturally occur. _When_
ought we to drink? and, _What_ ought we to drink? On both I shall
offer a few very brief remarks.

In the first part of this volume I endeavoured to shew that the
sensation of _thirst_ is given to us for the express purpose of
impelling us to take liquids whenever the wants of the system require
them, and that, in all ordinary circumstances, we cannot have a better
or a safer guide. Such is the general case; but exposed as we are
to numerous deviations from the intentions of Nature in our ways of
living, a few precautionary observations may not be without use.

The quantity of fluid separated from the blood and thrown out of
the system, in the course of twenty-four hours, by perspiration,
exhalation from the lungs, the urinary discharge, and the various other
secretions, is very great; and were not the loss as regularly supplied
by the ingestion of liquid, either as food or as drink, the blood
would speedily become so thick as to be unfit for circulation. This
actually happens in spasmodic cholera, in which the serum or watery
portion of the blood passes off through the bowels with such rapidity,
as to cause the entire suppression of the urinary secretion, and in
which consequently, the urgency of thirst is almost always excessive.
In the healthy state, however, the loss of fluid is never too rapid
unless under severe exertion or exposure to a very high temperature,
both being circumstances in which it is well known that thirst becomes
urgent in proportion to the necessities of the frame.

In proof of the sensation of thirst being greatly dependent upon the
quantity of fluid circulating in the vessels, Professor Dunglison of
Maryland refers to the fact, mentioned by Dupuytren, that he “succeeded
in allaying the thirst of animals by injecting milk, whey, water, and
other fluids into their veins;” and to Orfila’s statement, “that, in
his toxicological experiments, he frequently allayed, in this way,
the excessive thirst of animals to which he had administered poison,
and which were incapable of drinking, owing to the œsophagus having
been tied. He found, also, that the blood of animals was more and more
deprived of its watery portions as the abstinence from liquids was more
prolonged;”[59] and hence the greater thirst naturally experienced
under such circumstances.

As a general rule, then, the desire for liquids will in itself be an
indication of their propriety; but in gratifying it, we should be
careful not to drink so fast as either to distend the stomach beyond
proper bounds, or to disturb the progress of digestion by undue
dilution too soon after eating. Many persons, from habit rather than
thirst, impair the tone of the stomach by drinking largely during
or immediately after meals, and thus relaxing the mucous coat, and
probably affecting the quality of its secretions. If the gastric juice
be greatly diluted by extraneous fluids, it is natural to suppose that
its solvent power must be diminished; but whether this explanation be
sound or not, the practice of drinking frequently is certainly hurtful,
and therefore we ought to avoid it.

Experience proves that a moderate quantity of liquid during a meal is
beneficial; and if we drink little at a time, the risk of exceeding
the proper limit will be very small. Dyspeptics, however, ought to be
on their guard against taking too much, as they are apt to be misled
by uneasy sensations in the region of the stomach, which are relieved
for the moment, but afterwards aggravated, by the free dilution of
the food. Those, also, who live well, and are in the habit of taking
wine daily whether the system requires it or not, often fall into the
error of excessive indulgence in liquids to mitigate the thirst and
irritability which the unnecessary use of stimulus never fails to
induce, especially at night. The continual dilution, however, adds
to the mischief, by increasing the debility of the stomach, and, as
pointed out in the chapter on Thirst, the only effectual remedy is
to adapt the diet and regimen to the real wants of the constitution.
Except in disease, a continually recurring thirst must proceed from
mismanagement, and it is to be satisfied by an improved and rational
regimen, and not by oceans of fluid, which only weaken the stomach
still more, and aggravate the craving they are meant to cure.

The opinion is very prevalent, that mild drinks may be taken with most
advantage about three or four hours after a solid meal; and, certainly,
the almost universal use of tea or coffee about that time appears
to sanction its soundness. Theoretically, too, we might expect this
result; for digestion is then nearly over, and any food remaining in
the stomach is already in a fluid state. Many objections, however,
have been made to both tea and coffee as an evening beverage, but
most of them seem to me to apply to their undue quantity and strength
rather than to their temperate use. When made very strong, or taken in
large quantity, especially late in the evening, they not only ruin the
stomach, but very seriously derange the health of the brain and nervous
system.

The question of drink is of little importance as regards breakfast.
During the night, the chief expenditure of the system--by perspiration,
urine, and exhalation from the lungs--is of a fluid nature, and hence
there is a marked and general preference of fluids as part of our first
meal. In this country, accordingly, tea, coffee, and chocolate, are in
almost universal use for breakfast, and no other liquid is required
merely as drink. If, from the mode of life or other causes, thirst be
excited in the forenoon, no valid objection can be urged against its
moderate and reasonable gratification.

The _temperature_ at which liquids are taken is a matter of
perhaps greater consequence than it is usually considered. As regards
the teeth, we have already seen that either very cold or very hot
substances coming into contact with them are apt to be injurious.
As regards the stomach, the same principle holds true; and when we
consider the multitude and intricacy of its nervous connexions with
other vital organs, we can scarcely be surprised at even sudden
death being frequently caused by drinking ice-cold water when the
body is weakened by profuse perspiration. Of the various subjects
connected with digestion on which Dr Beaumont has thrown light by his
experiments on St Martin, this is one of the few which he has omitted
to investigate with his usual diligence and accuracy; a circumstance
which is the more remarkable, because an incidental observation of his
own seems, from its singularity, to have been well calculated to direct
his attention to its consideration. On the occasion alluded to, when a
gill of water, at the temperature of 55° Fahr., was received into the
empty stomach, in which the thermometer previously indicated a heat
of 99°, Dr Beaumont remarked that it immediately diffused itself over
the interior surface, _and brought down the temperature to 70°_,
at which it stood for a few minutes, and then began again to rise very
slowly. _It was not till thirty minutes had elapsed, and all the
water been for some time absorbed, that the mercury regained its former
level of 99°._ This is an important fact, and it is curious that
Dr Beaumont did not think of following it up by a regular series of
experiments, to ascertain the effects of cold and hot drinks on the
progress of digestion and on the general system. It is well known, for
example, that a copious draught of cold water, taken in a state of
perspiration and fatigue, is often instantly fatal; but its operation
has never been satisfactorily explained. The above experiment, however,
throws some light on it; for if a single gill of water at 55° (which
is not by any means a low temperature) is able to reduce the heat of
the stomach in a moment by no less than _twenty-nine degrees_,
when neither fatigue nor perspiration is present to add to its effect,
the influence of a _large quantity_, such as is usually drunk
by harvest-labourers and others who die of it, and at a still lower
temperature, must undoubtedly be much more powerful and permanent,
especially when the bodily energies and means of resisting the shock
are impaired by previous labour and exhaustion under a burning sun.
In these cases the shock necessarily arising from such a sudden and
extensive fall of temperature is greatly increased by the position of
the stomach in the very centre of the vital organs, to all of which
it is most intimately linked by the numerous nervous connexions given
for the express purpose of extending the range and direction of its
sympathies.

Keeping in mind the great depression of temperature caused by
swallowing so small a quantity of cold water, and also the ascertained
fact that a heat of about 100° is requisite for healthy digestion,
we shall have no difficulty in accounting for the frequent injurious
consequences arising from considerable quantities of ice-cream being
hastily eaten, as they often are, at the end of a substantial dinner.
The immediate effects of the rapid abstraction of heat to which they
give rise in the stomach, are the instantaneous contraction and
diminished action of its bloodvessels, the consequent stoppage of the
gastric secretion, diminished sensibility of its nerves and muscular
fibres, and, lastly, disturbance of the heart and neighbouring vital
organs, both by sympathy and by the direct abstraction of their heat.
Such, at least, are the consequences which flow from the application
of cold to parts exposed to observation, and partially verified by
Dr Beaumont in the case of the stomach; and if the analogy holds
throughout, as there is every reason to believe, we cannot wonder that
the free use of ice-cream at the end of a good dinner or supper should
retard and even arrest digestion in a person delicately constituted.

In thus condemning the free use of ices at the end of a substantial
meal, I do not, however, mean to say that a few tea-spoonfuls of them,
eaten slowly, and allowed to acquire a higher temperature before
reaching the stomach, will do permanent injury to a person in health
and in the enjoyment of sound digestion. Many eat them in this way
and are little the worse; partly from the subsequent reaction, as in
bathing, being sufficient to counteract the depressing influence, and
partly from a person in vigorous health being able to throw off causes
of disease from which those who are less robustly constituted suffer
severely. My belief however is, that the _tendency_ of ices, taken
in such circumstances, is to produce mischief. A healthy person, for
example, may possess vigour enough to escape injury from immersion in
cold water, caused by the ice giving way when skating; but as well
might it be inferred, on that account, that a similar immersion would
be generally innocuous, and even salubrious, as that all may safely eat
ices freely because a given individual has done so with impunity. Dr
Beaumont’s experiment with the cold water shews clearly that the effect
is to _lower the vital tone_ of the stomach; and, such being
the case, those whose digestion is weak ought to be careful against
impairing it still farther by the use of ices. In some instances,
however, it is not improbable that they help to neutralize the bad
effects of hot soup, and other dishes eaten at too high a temperature.

The use of cold or iced water in hot weather and in warm climates,
_when digestion is not going on_ and _exhaustion is not present_, is
so far from being necessarily hurtful, that with proper caution it
may prove both grateful and refreshing. In Italy, accordingly, ice is
considered so much a necessary of life in summer, that in Naples and
other places the confectioners are punished by a fine if they allow
their supply to fall short. In Virginia, too, where, we are told
by Professor Dunglison, it was very common some years ago for the
labourers in the harvest-field to be killed by drinking copiously of
spring-water while overheated, cases of death have become extremely
unfrequent since the custom was introduced of supplying them with ice.
When water was taken, it was always hastily and in large quantity,
so that the immediate effect on the system was greater than could
possibly arise from the small quantity of ice which is required for
quenching thirst. The very slowness, indeed, with which ice melts,
not only prevents much being taken, but causes the water procured
from it to reach a higher and safer temperature before it arrives at
the stomach.[60] Hence, when ices are taken, the more slowly they are
eaten the more refreshing and salubrious will they become, because the
less violent will be their action upon the nerves, bloodvessels, and
membranes of the stomach. From the close sympathy existing between the
stomach, and the skin, a single tea-spoonful of ice-cream suddenly
swallowed when the body is weak and perspiring, will produce as
instantaneous a sense of chill as a pail of cold water dashed over
the surface; and on account of this very power over the vital actions
of the stomach, ice has of late been cautiously and beneficially
prescribed to subdue inflammation of that organ.

Liquids, such as soup, tea, and coffee, taken at a very high
temperature, are also injurious, but not in the same degree. They relax
the mucous membrane and weaken the action of the muscular coat, and in
so far tend to impair digestion. The fittest temperature for both solid
and liquid food is perhaps about the natural heat of the body, or a
little above 100°. Dr Dunglison, however, and some other physiologists,
regard hot fluids as stimulating to the stomach, and therefore
conducive to digestion; but he admits that debility is their ultimate
effect.

When great thirst has been excited either by bodily labour or by
external heat, it will generally be more effectually as well as safely
quenched by drinking moderately of tepid than of cold fluids. A tepid
draught--a cup of tea for example--produces no disturbing action in
the stomach, and, being immediately absorbed, supplies the deficiency
of liquid without changing the balance of the circulating fluids,
thus relieving thirst very much in the same way as Dupuytren did by
injecting tepid water into the veins; whereas cold drink, by the
suddenness of its impression, disturbs the balance of the circulation,
and excites a degree of reaction which increases the original
discomfort. If the system is at the same time weakened by fatigue, cold
drinks are always injurious.

Of late years a change in the treatment of horses in this respect has
taken place. Formerly it used to be considered dangerous to give water
to a horse in a state of perspiration. Now, however, it is a common
practice to allow post and stage-coach horses a little water before
their run is completed, however warm they may be: but, in the first
place, the quantity allowed is small, and is always given before the
strength is exhausted; and, in the second place, the excitement of
the subsequent exercise prevents any considerable disturbance in the
balance of circulation, and thus ensures the safety of the animal. If
even the same moderate quantity were given at the end of the stage,
and the horse were then allowed to rest, inflammation would almost
inevitably result.

The same principle applies to the human frame, and affords an easy
explanation of the occasional instances we see of persons _heated_
by exertion drinking cold water without injury. If the exertion have
been merely sufficient to produce _excitement without fatigue_,
and _heat without debilitating perspiration_, and especially if
it be resumed after the draught, little or no harm will ensue. But if
exhaustion or fatigue have been induced, and the individual be allowed
to drink freely of the cold water and then rest, the probability of
mischief resulting from it will be greatly increased. Many accidents
result from losing sight of this distinction, and from acting alike in
circumstances so essentially different.

On the subject of _the kind of drink_ which ought to be taken
a great deal might be said, were it necessary to discuss here the
qualities of all the liquors that are in use. But as my purpose is very
different, a few general remarks will be enough.

_Water_ is a safe drink for all constitutions, provided it be
resorted to in obedience to the dictates of natural thirst only, and
not of habit, and with the precautions already pointed out; but unless
the desire for it is felt, there is no occasion for its use during a
meal, for the mere purpose of obeying a general rule. Toast and water,
whey, beer, barley-water, aërated and soda water, and other liquids of
a similar kind, which are little stronger than pure water, may be used,
according to the same general principle, by those who prefer them and
find them agreeable to the stomach. But with regard to such fermented
liquors as porter, ale, spirits, and wine, much greater restriction is
necessary, because much good or evil may be done by them when properly
or improperly administered.

The primary effect of all distilled and fermented liquors is to
_stimulate the nervous system and quicken the circulation_. In
all conditions, therefore, in which the action of these requires to be
increased or supported, they are calculated to be useful; and, on the
contrary, where it requires to be soothed and abated, they are sure to
be prejudicial. To shew the utility of this principle as a standard, we
shall notice a few of its applications.

Among the higher classes, it is common to give children an allowance
of wine every day from a very early age. To determine the propriety of
doing so, let us examine what is then their constitutional state.

In infancy and childhood the circulation is rapid and easily excited,
and the nervous system is strongly acted upon even by the slightest
external impressions. Hence slight causes of irritation readily excite
febrile and convulsive disorders. The object of the parent, therefore,
is not to stimulate, but rather to _abate_ nervous and vascular
action. Wine, accordingly, is not only unnecessary, but _positively
detrimental to children_, and it is wrong to accustom them to it.
There are individual children, no doubt, who are so imperfectly and
sluggishly constituted as to require some stimulus to rouse the system
to healthy action, and to whom wine is beneficial as a medicine. But
these are the exceptions to the general rule, and to them it should be
given only under medical sanction.

In youth the natural tendency of the constitution is still to
excitement; and consequently, as a general rule, the stimulus of
fermented liquors is injurious. During rapid growth, however, the
animal functions are sometimes so enfeebled by the great demands made
upon them, that not only a full supply of nourishing food, but also an
allowance of wine and malt liquor, is required for a time to sustain
their energy. In this case the beneficial influence of the fermented
drinks is apparent, by their giving tone to the system without raising
the pulse or increasing nervous sensibility; but whenever any of these
effects is produced, their employment ought to be discontinued.

In mature age, when digestion is good and the system in full vigour,
if the mode of life be not too exhausting, the nervous functions
and general circulation are in their best condition, and require no
stimulus for their support. The bodily energy is then easily sustained
by nutritious food and a regular regimen, and consequently artificial
excitement only increases the wasting of the natural strength. Where,
however, the system has been long accustomed to the use of wine, it
will, in general, be better to leave it off gradually than to make
a sudden change. In old age, when the powers of life begin to fail,
moderate stimulus may be used with evident advantage.

If it be said that this doctrine amounts to a virtual prohibition of
wine and stimulant liquors, I admit at once that, where the whole
animal functions go on healthfully and energetically without them,
their use is, in my opinion, adverse to the continuance of health. But
there are many constitutions so inherently defective in energy, as to
derive benefit from a moderate daily allowance of wine; and there are
many situations in which even the healthiest derive additional security
from its occasional use. If, for example, a healthy person is exposed
to unusual and continued exertion in the open air, or to the influence
of anxious and depressing watchfulness, a moderate quantity of wine
along with his food may become the means of warding off actual disease,
and enabling him to bear up uninjured, where without it he would have
given way. This preservative influence has been so often experienced,
that it is impossible to deny its reality.

While, then, I consider stimulating liquors of every kind as both
useless and hurtful, where without them the system is healthful and
energetic, I can see no reason why their temperate use in circumstances
of an opposite nature ought to be denied. Many weak constitutions and
many invalids are benefited by wine, and all that can reasonably be
demanded is, that it shall not be abused.

Continued and severe exertion, whether of body or of mind, often
exhausts the system so much as to render the temporary use of wine,
and even of spirits, not only innocuous, but positively beneficial;
but in these cases they should be considered as medicines, and care
ought to be taken not to carry the stimulus too far. That, in some
circumstances, stimulus is really required, is accordingly shewn by the
ease with which the system bears its effects. I have known a delicate
lady, during recovery from fever, take to the extent of a bottle
of Madeira in twenty-four hours, without producing the least undue
excitement of either the mind or the pulse, but rather the contrary--it
soothed the mind and reduced the pulse; and this I take to be the true
test of its propriety in all circumstances.

The same principle explains the well-known fact that many sportsmen,
who, while living a sedentary life in town, are easily affected by
even a small quantity of spirits, yet bear triple the quantity, with
apparent impunity, under the influence of inspiriting exercise in a
pure mountain-air: on resuming their former habits, the spirits again
affect them as readily as before.

As a support to the system in cases which require it, wine is in
general far preferable to spirits of any description. The former, when
seasonably used, communicates a more healthful and permanent tone to
the frame; while spirits impart a strong and unnatural stimulus, which
is sooner or later followed by collapse and debility--and hence the
incessant craving for more when the system has once been accustomed to
them. Ardent spirits, therefore, ought to be used only as a medical
remedy. At present, however, this is so far from being the case, that
they are resorted to on all occasions, afflictive and convivial,
as if they were a specific against every evil. Among the poor,
especially, whisky or gin is considered a sovereign remedy for every
disease. Even to infants it is administered with a recklessness which
savours strongly of barbarism, and the consequences are as might be
expected--deplorable. Among the higher classes, too, brandy and strong
stimuli are in more frequent use than they ought to be; and medical men
should be on their guard against directly or indirectly encouraging, in
their patients, a practice so utterly destructive to both physical and
moral happiness. For, in some instances, it is to be feared that the
stimulant bitters and anti-spasmodics, so generally had recourse to in
indigestion and nervous diseases, have had an unsuspected share in the
formation of a habit of intemperance.

Of late years, great exertions have been made, both in this country and
in America, to warn the public against indulging in the use of ardent
spirits; and powerful medical, as well as moral facts and arguments,
have been adduced to demonstrate the unspeakably greater advantages
of temperance. These efforts have been followed with astonishing
success, and the good which has been already effected is immense. It
seems to me, however, that much more might be accomplished, if we
did not confine ourselves so exclusively to the mere inculcation of
abstinence from intoxicating liquors, but concerned ourselves more in
improving the general character, as the surest road to reformation, and
in providing resources by means of which the reformation, when once
effected, might be fully confirmed. The temperance which is produced
by elevation of mind, and an improved state of moral feeling, will
be not only much more beneficial in its consequences, but infinitely
more proof against temptations, than that which is observed merely in
fulfilment of a vow; and unless something be made to come in the place
of the enjoyment which is withdrawn, the danger of a relapse will
continue to be great. The importance of this principle is perhaps not
sufficiently recognised in the otherwise valuable labours of Temperance
Societies.

Many persons imagine that spirits, taken in moderate quantity, cannot
be injurious, _because they feel no immediate bad effects from their
use_. If the fundamental principle which I have advanced is sound,
and if all the functions of the system are already vigorously executed
_without_ the aid of spirits, their use can be followed by only
one effect--_morbid excitement_; and it is in vain to contend
against this obvious truth. The evil attending their unnecessary use
may not be _felt_ at the moment, but nevertheless it is there;
and for demonstrative proof of the fact, we are again indebted to Dr
Beaumont. On examining St Martin’s stomach after he had been indulging
freely in ardent spirits for several days, Dr Beaumont found its
mucous membrane covered with _erythematic_ (inflammatory) _and
aphthous_ (ulcerous) _patches_, the secretions vitiated, and
the gastric juice diminished in quantity, viscid, and unhealthy;
although St Martin still _complained of nothing_, not even of
impaired appetite. Two days later, when the state of matters was
aggravated, “_the inner membrane of the stomach was unusually morbid,
the erythematic appearance more extensive, the spots more livid than
usual; from the surface of some of them exuded small drops of grumous
blood; the aphthous patches were larger and more numerous,--the
mucous covering thicker than common, and the gastric secretions much
more vitiated. The gastric fluids extracted were mixed with a large
proportion of thick ropy mucus, and a considerable muco-purulent
discharge slightly tinged with blood, resembling the discharge from
the bowels in some cases of dysentery_. Notwithstanding this
diseased appearance of the stomach, no very essential aberration of
its functions was manifested. St Martin complained of no symptoms
indicating any general derangement of the system, except an uneasy
sensation and a tenderness at the pit of the stomach, and some
vertigo, with dimness and yellowness of vision, on stooping down and
rising again; had a thin yellowish-brown coat on his tongue, and his
countenance was rather sallow; pulse uniform and regular, appetite
good; rests quietly, and sleeps as usual.”[61]

I have marked part of this quotation in italics, because it cannot be
too attentively considered by those who contend that the stimulus of
spirits is not injurious to the stomach or general health, unless
where the mischief shews itself by palpable external signs. Here we
have incontestible proof, that disease of the stomach was induced, and
going on from bad to worse, in consequence of indulgence in ardent
spirits, although no prominent symptom made its appearance, and St
Martin was in his general habits a healthy and sober man. And if such
be the results of a few days of intemperance in a person of a sound
constitution, it is impossible to deny that continued indulgence must
be followed by more serious evils, whether these shew themselves from
the first by marked external signs or not.

After a few days of low diet and the use of mild diluents, the coats
of St Martin’s stomach were seen to resume their healthy appearance;
the secretions became natural, the gastric juice clear and abundant,
and the appetite voracious. Dr Beaumont adds, that, in the course of
his experiments, diseased appearances of a similar kind were frequently
observed--generally, but not always, after some appreciable cause.
“Improper indulgence in eating and drinking has been the most common
precursor of these diseased conditions of the coats of the stomach.
_The free use of ardent spirits, wine, beer, or any intoxicating
liquor, when continued for some days, has invariably produced these
morbid changes. Eating voraciously or to excess, swallowing food
coarsely masticated or too fast_,” “almost invariably produce
similar effects, if repeated a number of times in close succession.”
(P. 239.) These observations require no comment; their practical
bearing must be obvious to all who are willing to perceive it.

Dr Beaumont had also frequent occasion to remark, that, when stomachic
disorder attended with febrile symptoms were present, the mucous coat
of the stomach presented distinct appearances of disease. He frequently
saw it, for example, red, irritable, and dry; and on the food touching
it _no gastric juice exuded_, and consequently any food taken
lay long undigested. But after the diseased action was subdued by
regimen and medicine, the gastric juice again flowed readily, and
digestion went on as vigorously as before. Even anger and violent
mental emotions sometimes produced these appearances, and gave rise to
temporary indigestion. These observations shew the futility, not to
say mischief, of administering food during fever and other diseases
by way of supporting the strength, when, from the deficiency of the
gastric juice, it cannot be digested, and can only add to the existing
irritation. In this state, however, bland fluids are appropriate;
because they allay irritation, and are almost entirely absorbed,
without requiring to be digested.

The condition of the stomach above described, and the consequent
failure and vitiation of the gastric secretion, induced by drinking
ardent spirits, and by general intemperance, explain at once the
miserable digestion and impaired appetite of the habitual drunkard; and
it would be well for those who are in danger of becoming the victims of
the habit, were they early impressed with some of these striking and
important truths.

If it be asked, whether I go the length of proscribing all fermented
liquors, from table-beer upwards, I answer that I do not; I merely
mean, that, where the general health is perfect without them, they
ought not to be taken, because then their only effect is to produce
unnatural excitement. But wherever the constitution or health is
so deficient, or the exertions required by the mode of life are so
great, that the system cannot be sustained in proper vigour without
some additional stimulus, I would not only sanction but recommend
the use of either wine or such other fermented liquor as should be
found by experience to support the strength, _without quickening
the circulation, exciting the mind, or disordering the digestive
functions_. If, however, any of these effects be produced, I would
consider its occurrence as a proof that the stimulus is inappropriate,
and cannot be too soon discontinued, or at least diminished to such a
quantity as shall be consistent with the ordinary action of the animal
functions.

It may be alleged that a glass of brandy after a heavy dinner
facilitates digestion, and therefore cannot do harm. I admit at once,
that, when we eat too much, or fill the stomach with indigestible food,
a dram of brandy, from its temporary stimulus, enables us to get rid
of the load sooner than we could do without it. But it seems to me,
that a far wiser plan would be, to abstain from eating what we know
to be oppressive to the stomach; and that, by this means, we shall
attain our end infinitely better, than by first eating a heavy meal and
then, taking a stimulus, the efficacy of which is diminished by every
repetition of its use. If we were _compelled_ to exceed the bounds
of moderation in eating, there would be some apology for our conduct.

                              CHAPTER VI.

                ON THE PROPER REGULATION OF THE BOWELS.

   Functions of the intestines--The action of the bowels bears a
   natural relation to the kind of diet--Illustrations--And also to
   the other excretions--Practical conclusions from this--Different
   causes of inactivity of bowels--Natural aids to intestinal
   action--General neglect of them--Great importance of regularity
   of bowels--Bad health from their neglect--Especially at the age
   of puberty--Natural means preferable to purgatives--Concluding
   remarks.

Having now taken a general view of the objects, nature, and laws of
digestion, and of the structure and mode of action of the various
organs concerned in its performance, and made ourselves acquainted with
the principles on which our conduct ought to be regulated, so as to
second the intentions of Nature for our welfare and happiness, I have
only to add a few practical remarks on the proper management of the
bowels, and then conclude.

The proper uses of the intestines are, as we have seen, to serve,
_1st_, for the performance of chylification; _2dly_, for the
absorption of the nutritive chyle; and, _3dly_, as a reservoir for
the indigestible residue of the food, and an outlet for both it and the
effete matter which requires to be thrown out of the general system.
The processes of chylification and absorption having been treated of
in a former chapter, it is in the last capacity only we have now to
consider the intestinal canal.

Besides the bowels, there are several other channels by which the
waste materials of the body pass out. The most important of these are
the skin, the lungs, and the kidneys; and in certain circumstances,
where the action of the one is impaired or repressed, the natural
alliance subsisting among their respective functions, enables the
rest to come to its assistance, and even for a time to supply its
place. Thus, when, by continued exposure to cold, the exhalation
from the skin is much diminished, the blood is thrown in upon the
internal organs in larger quantity, and, as a consequence, the urinary
secretion and the exhalation from the lungs are both increased, and
full relief to the system is temporarily obtained. During hot weather,
on the other hand, when the skin is in high action, and perspiration
flowing freely, the urinary secretion is greatly lessened. The same
principle applies equally to the case of the bowels; and hence the
sudden application of cold to the surface of the body, and consequent
suppression of perspiration, often increase the intestinal secretions
to such an amount as to induce bowel-complaint. On the other hand,
the excited action of the bowels by laxatives, tends equally to
diminish the activity of the skin; and hence, indeed, one source of the
_cooling_ effect of saline purgatives administered in fever and
inflammations.

The bowels being thus the outlet of the indigestible portion of the
food, and of waste matter from the system, it follows that, in health,
their action ought to bear a relation to the kind of aliment used,
and to the state of the other excretory functions; and consequently,
that what may constitute healthy action at one time, and in one
individual, may be very far from presenting the same character at
another time, and in a different individual. If, for example, a person
be fed chiefly on milk, rice, or farinaceous aliment, which is almost
entirely appropriated to the purposes of nutrition, and leaves very
little residue, the bowels, having little to throw out, will naturally
act seldomer and less fully than when the diet consists chiefly of
bulky and innutritious vegetables, which leave a large portion of
indigestible matter to be evacuated. Most persons are aware of the
difference of effect between the two kinds of diet, but, from not
being acquainted with the principle on which it depends, are apt to
conclude that, because in the first case the bowels act less, therefore
they ought to be assisted by laxatives. The inference, however, is by
no means necessarily sound; because the diminished intestinal action
consequent on an exclusively farinaceous diet is then the natural and
healthy result; and accordingly, _where such diet is required_,
the mere costiveness is attended with no injury to the constitution.
The proper conclusion to be drawn from it is, that the permanent and
exclusive use of concentrated food is not in harmony with the structure
and functions of our digestive and assimilating organs, and that,
therefore, instead of continuing their use, and merely resorting to
purgatives to excite an action for the removal of a residue which does
not exist, reason requires that we should select a diet better adapted
to the constitution and laws of the organization by which it is to be
acted upon.

The same remark applies to those who are accustomed to dine chiefly
on animal food, and rice or bread, without any sufficient admixture of
herbaceous or other innutritious substances. If, in such circumstances,
the aliment is almost entirely converted into nourishment and absorbed,
it follows, as a matter of necessity, that little will remain to be
thrown out of the body, and that the bowels will act less than with a
different kind of diet. If the state of the constitution at the time be
such as to require the exclusive use of this kind of aliment, forced
action of the bowels by purgatives will not be needed, because their
slowness will be natural and healthy. But if it be not, then the proper
remedy is, not to excite the bowels by irritating purgatives, but to
remove the cause of the intestinal inactivity by changing the system of
diet.

It may be answered to this, that there are many instances in which the
stomach is unable to digest any vegetable or innutritious food, and in
which, consequently, the diet cannot be altered without injury. I admit
that, in the present state of society, cases of this kind are common;
but their number would be greatly reduced if a proper mode of life
were systematically adopted, and that regard paid to the conditions of
health which their intrinsic importance deserves. There are very few
individuals who, when in health, and with the aid of a proper regimen,
cannot digest aliment suited to the natural constitution of the stomach
and bowels; and when such cases do occur, they constitute exceptions to
the general rule, and must, of course, be treated either by the use of
laxatives, or such other remedies as the circumstances may require.

As the frequency and amount of the intestinal evacuations may thus vary
according to the nature of the diet, without necessarily involving any
disturbance of health, so may they also vary according to the state
of the other excretions; and hence, again, is evident the absurdity
of considering the same standard as applicable alike to all persons,
times, and circumstances. If, from continued exertion, perspiration
is kept unusually active, the excretion from the bowels may be
proportionally diminished, not only without injury, but even with
advantage to the health; because, if the same waste were to go on by
the bowels as before, and the increased exhalation from the skin also
to continue, the system would speedily become reduced. In consumption,
for example, exhausting bowel-complaint and profuse perspiration are
frequently observed to alternate, and whatever remedy is given to check
the one generally aggravates the other. But if _both_ were to run
their course together, instead of singly, how much more rapidly would
the system be undermined!

From this relation between the different excretory functions, it
follows, that when sluggishness of the bowels is induced by excess in
another excretion, the first step ought to be to remove or diminish the
unnatural stimulus which has occasioned that excess, before attempting,
by means of purgatives, to _force_ the bowels to act. If the
cause which has produced the deviation from the due proportion of the
excretion be left unabated, the only effect of strong laxatives will
be, not to relieve, but to irritate and weaken.

The mere fact of the bowels not being emptied so frequently as usual,
is therefore, when taken by itself, no evidence that they ought to be
stimulated by medicine. Before coming to this conclusion, we ought to
determine clearly whether the diminished action results from morbid
sluggishness of the intestinal canal, or is the natural result of an
accidental change of diet, or temporary excess in the other excretions;
because the remedy which is appropriate and efficacious in the one
case, may be altogether inapplicable to the other. Where it arises
entirely from the aliment leaving little residual matter to be thrown
out, the health may suffer _from the diet being inappropriate_,
but it will not suffer merely from the diminished action of the
bowels. Whereas, when the diet is of the ordinary mixed kind, and the
costiveness proceeds from morbid inaction, then general derangement of
the system will be induced, unless the bowels be attended to, and their
natural action restored. This distinction ought never to be lost sight
of.

Judging from the prevalent notions on the subject, from the universal
reference of all kinds of bad health to derangement of the stomach and
bowels as their source, and from the scarcely less universal use of
purgatives as remedial agents, one would be apt to suppose that, to
ensure health and long life, nothing more was required than to procure,
no matter by what means, an intestinal evacuation regularly every day;
and the inference would, to a certain extent, be confirmed by the
acknowledged extensive utility of laxative medicines. The real state of
the case, however, is not quite so simple; and as it is of importance
that it should be understood, I shall attempt to explain it as clearly
as I can.

We have seen that inactivity of the intestinal canal may arise from
the use of too concentrated aliment, and from excess in the other
excretions. In the great majority of cases, however, the cause is very
different. In general, the diet is sufficiently varied and abundant,
and the balance of functions sufficiently equal to leave a considerable
quantity of alimentary residue and effete matter to be thrown out by
the bowels; and if it is not regularly expelled, some obstacle of a
different kind must exist, which, in the first place, ought to be
removed, before we can expect to succeed in restoring the natural
action. To learn what that obstacle is, let us turn our attention for
a moment to the natural means by which the intestinal evacuations are
effected.

The progress of the intestinal contents along their canal depends,
first, on their affording the necessary stimulus to excite the
contraction of the muscular coat; secondly, on the assistance derived
from the free action of the abdominal and respiratory muscles, not only
during respiration, but during every kind of bodily exercise; and,
thirdly, on the inner surface of the intestine being duly lubricated
with the mucous secretion. If any or all of these conditions be
unfulfilled, the inevitable result will be morbid sluggishness of the
intestinal action, and the various consequences dependent on it; and
hence, when the evil exists, the first point to be determined is the
nature of the cause by which it is produced.

As already remarked, farinaceous and other concentrated aliments
do not afford the requisite stimulus to the muscular fibres of the
intestine; because they are in a great measure absorbed, and leave
little to be thrown out. If, therefore, concentrated food be the
cause of costiveness, the proper remedy is to alter the diet, and to
have recourse to other means only where that proves insufficient. If,
again, the inactivity of the bowels proceeds from the food not being
sufficiently digested, and from their contents being on this account
inadequate to excite them to healthy and regular action, it follows as
a necessary consequence, that before we can expect to obtain intestinal
regularity, digestion must be improved by steady perseverance in a
proper regimen, and such other means as may be required to restore
the tone of the stomach. It is in cases of this description that the
practitioner is most frequently consulted. If he and the patient are
satisfied with simply procuring relief, he has ready means at hand in
any of the ordinary purgatives. But if a _cure_ is their object,
they must go back to the root of the evil, and begin by restoring the
digestive organs to health as the first step towards permanent success.

The observance of a proper adaptation between the quantity of the food
and the state of the digestive organs and mode of life, is then not
less essential to the proper action of the bowels than to that of the
stomach. If we eat more than the system requires, the bowels become
oppressed and weakened by their load; and it is in such circumstances
that purgatives afford immediate relief by the removal of the
superfluity, and, by blinding the individual to the real nature of the
evil, tempt him to recur too frequently to the use of medicine.

Where, however, as most frequently happens, the constipation arises
chiefly from the absence of all assistance from the abdominal and
respiratory muscles, and in part only from an inappropriate diet,
the first step to be taken is again to solicit the aid of the
former--first, by removing all impediments to free respiration, such
as stays, waistbands, and belts; and, secondly, by resorting to such
active exercises as shall call the muscles into full and regular
action: and the next is to proportion the quantity of food to the wants
of the system, and to the condition of the digestive organs. If we
employ these means systematically and perseveringly, we shall rarely
fail in at last restoring the healthy action of the bowels with little
aid from medicine. But if we set these natural conditions at defiance,
we may go on for years, adding pill to pill and dose to dose, without
ever attaining the end at which we aim.

How, indeed, can it be otherwise? If the Creator has so constituted
us that the free play of the lungs and muscles is indispensable to
proper intestinal action, it is in vain for us to struggle against the
arrangement, and expect to substitute beneficially the stimulus of
purgatives for that of the natural play of the muscles. Either we must
give up our own obstinate adherence to sedentary pursuits and conform
to the divine laws, or we must submit to the punishment inseparable
from disobedience, and merely endeavour to mitigate its severity by
such partial remedies as lie within our reach.

Where bodily weakness, or any other cause, absolutely prevents us from
engaging in active bodily exertion, corresponding moderation in eating,
and continued kneading and rubbing over the region of the bowels,
when used daily and persevered in till the strength is restored,
are of great service in promoting their healthy action. Where great
sluggishness of the bowels exists, and no exercise can be taken, the
rubbing generally requires to be continued for an hour or more daily,
or even twice a-day.

Sometimes intestinal inaction proceeds from defective mucous secretion
on the surface of the internal coat, caused either by errors in diet
or by local irritation. When costiveness is excited in this way, a
mild diluent regimen will generally remove it. It is in such cases
that saline medicines, which act by increasing the mucous secretions,
are often very useful; while aloetic and other stimulant purgatives
increase the evil by aggravating the irritation.

Such being the mode of action of the bowels, and such the natural
agents by which it is carried on, we can now appreciate the folly of
seeking to apply the same remedy to every kind of costiveness, no
matter from what cause it proceeds. If a clerk who sits motionless all
day in an office, who indulges his appetite, and has no bodily exercise
to facilitate respiration and give a natural impetus to the bowels,
begins after a time to complain of constipation, it is not difficult to
tell what is required for his cure. The first step which a knowledge
of the animal functions would suggest, is to diminish the food to such
a quantity as the stomach can digest; the next, to use such a diet as
is calculated to excite the muscular coat of the intestine to healthy
activity; the third, to seek the natural aid arising from exercise
of the abdominal and respiratory muscles; and the last of all, to
have recourse, when necessary, to such medicines as may be required
for a time to restore the tone of the bowels, and enable them to
act without further assistance. The course usually adopted, however,
is widely different from that here described. From ignorance of the
laws of organization, the patient is not aware of the extent to which
he infringes them in his conduct, and consequently rests satisfied
with lamenting his hard fate in possessing such a bad constitution,
and resorting to strong medicines to _force_ that action which
he feels to be essential to health, but which he will not consent to
elicit by the means with which Nature has furnished him.

Among the middle and higher classes, very many females act on the
same erroneous plan, and with equally unfortunate results. In them
the evil is aggravated by the tightness of their clothing impeding
almost entirely the descent of the diaphragm, and the free play of the
abdominal muscles, in respiration.

From this view of the nature and causes of costiveness, it will be
evident, that, as a general rule, the bowels are perfectly competent
to the discharge of their functions, when the conditions essential
for their healthy action are duly fulfilled. And hence, whenever they
become morbidly inactive, we may rest assured that, in some point or
other, our own management is or has been defective; and the surest way
to remedy the evil is, not to have instant recourse to medicine, but to
begin by discovering and amending the defect. In the rare occurrence
of constipation among children and other actively employed persons, we
have ample proof of the fundamental principle that the bowels do not
naturally stand in need of the stimulus of medicine, but require only
to be properly treated to fit them for the office with which they are
charged.

While, then, I entirely agree with public opinion in attaching great
importance to the proper regulation of the bowels, and in tracing
much suffering to their neglect, I am only the more anxious that
we should, as far as possible, follow Nature in our arrangements,
and reap the benefit of her aid. If we do so, we shall not only be
less frequently obliged to have recourse to medicine, but, by our
knowledge of the causes of the deficient action, be greatly assisted
in our selection of an appropriate kind of laxative, and thus avoid
forcing the constitution too far. It sometimes happens, for example,
that, from debility of the muscular coat, the peristaltic motion is
insufficient to propel the contents of the intestines, even with the
aid of proper diet and exercise. In such cases, small doses of aloes or
rhubarb, or other laxatives, which act chiefly by exciting the muscular
contraction, will be sufficient to clear the bowels, especially when
any mild tonic is conjoined with them; while saline laxatives which
act chiefly on the mucous coat, may be given freely, and even cause
numerous watery evacuations, and yet the real or solid contents of the
intestines continue unremoved. In practice this often happens; and
hence the frequent mistake of supposing that there is proper passage
from the bowels, when in reality there is no such thing.

The period of life at which intestinal inactivity is attended with the
most serious consequences, is at and for a few years after puberty.
At that age a sudden change is often made from the restless activity
of youth to all the stillness of a sedentary profession, without any
corresponding alteration being made in the quantity of food consumed.
The vigorous appetite, which is perfectly natural during a period of
growth and great bodily activity, remains at first unimpaired, and
impels the individual to eat an amount of food far beyond the present
necessities of the system or the powers of digestion. The consequence
is a tendency, not only to fulness from excessive nutrition, but
to severe digestive disorder from the stomach and intestines being
weakened both by want of exercise and by excess of food. I have known
many instances of dyspepsia, constipation, and mental affection, and
even of active inflammation, thus produced. In one case, four years
of continued bad health in an otherwise sound constitution were the
penalty inflicted before the real cause was accidentally discovered.
During all that time, too, temporary relief invariably followed the
use of purgatives, and seemed in some measure to point to the truth;
but from the mind never having been directed to the principles, its
practical bearing was overlooked, and now the individual wonders that
the cause did not, even at first sight, arrest the attention of his
medical advisers.

In cases of this description, however, it ought to be observed, it is
not the mere constipation which injures the health and requires to be
removed. It is in reality to _the mode of life which induces it_
that we ought to direct our attention; for, unless that be amended, all
our efforts to preserve the health by merely removing the effect will
prove insufficient.

In the natural and healthy state, under a proper system of diet,
and with sufficient exercise, the bowels are relieved regularly once
every day. In some constitutions, however, the ordinary period is
shorter or longer than this--twice a-day, or only once in two days;
but such differences are unimportant when they do not proceed from
morbid causes, or in any way disturb the health. Habit, in this as
in other operations under the influence of the nervous system, is
powerful in modifying the result, and in sustaining healthy action when
once fairly established. Hence the obvious advantage of observing as
much regularity in relieving the system as in taking our meals, and
the impropriety of attempting to break through the habit when once
formed. Sleep seems to be favourable to the progress of nutrition,
and it is apparently during the night that the assimilation of the
daily food is completed, and its residue prepared for being expelled
along with the other excretions. Hence there is a natural tendency in
the bowels to act in the morning, and we ought therefore to encourage
it by a voluntary effort. Even the reception of breakfast into the
stomach seems to act as a stimulus to intestinal contraction, and in
consequence many persons experience the inclination immediately after
their morning repast, and suffer if they are prevented from yielding to
it.

Where, either from constitutional weakness, sedentary occupation, or
other unavoidable causes, the bowels are unable to act sufficiently to
relieve the system without assistance, we have, of course, no choice
but to select that which is most suitable to the circumstances and most
gentle in its operation; because, if assistance be not afforded, the
health will assuredly suffer. Numerous examples of this kind are met
with every day; and, when treating them, we should always be careful
to aid Nature as far as possible by an appropriate diet and regimen,
and not trust to medicine alone for rectifying the consequences of the
patient’s misconduct. We ought, in short, never to lose sight of the
great truth, that, if the bowels were originally constituted by the
Creator with power to act sufficiently on the application of their own
stimulus, food, there must necessarily be a wide departure from His
laws in some part of our conduct to cause the loss of that power; and
therefore, whenever we find the bowels unable to act without medicine,
our first business ought to be to discover and rectify the error into
which we have fallen,--and recourse should be had to medicine only in
so far as it shall be necessary to remedy the consequences which the
transgression has brought upon us.

As the sole object of the present volume is to make the reader
acquainted with the _natural_ laws of the animal economy, and with
the means by which aberrations from them may be prevented and health
preserved, I shall not enter at all upon the discussion either of the
morbid conditions of the bowels, or of the remedies by which these may
be cured--and consequently shall say nothing farther of the use of
purgative or other medicines. The consideration of these matters is not
only foreign to the subject, but would require an extent of detail much
beyond my present limits.

Perhaps some persons may think, that, before concluding, I ought to
apologize for having introduced to the notice of the general reader
such topics as those discussed in this and some of the former chapters.
In doing so, I have been actuated by a deep sense of the misery
arising from the prevailing ignorance on topics which, although in
themselves as interesting and important as any to which the human mind
can be directed, have nevertheless been passed over in silence, partly
from not the least suspicion being generally entertained of their
real bearing on our health and happiness, and partly also from false
notions of delicacy diverting attention from their calm and deliberate
examination. In endeavouring, therefore, to unfold what I conceive to
be useful truths, in the language of reason, I confess that I feel no
apprehension that any well-constituted mind will receive contamination
from the perusal of what is contained in these pages.

                                INDEX.

    Abercrombie, Dr, quoted on intemperate eating, 225, 282.

    Absorbents of the bowels, 163.

    Absorption most active before breakfast, 195.
      Rapid absorption of liquids from the stomach, 38, 79, 117, 140,
          195.

    Acids, in what cases they promote digestion, 104.
      Acidity of stomach, 283.

    Ages, different, require different kinds of food, 255.

    Americans intemperate and rapid eaters, 223, 294.

    Animal food more digestible and nutritious than vegetable, 118,
        138, 281, 283.
      Cause of its greater digestibility, 140.
      Also more stimulating, 141.
      Why apparently more binding, 183.
      Improper for infants, 264.

    Anxiety impedes digestion, 300.

    Aorta, 170.

    Appetite, its necessity as a warning that nutriment is required,
        10, 11.
      Susceptible of being trained, 32.
      Not to be relied on when morbid, 34.
      See _Hunger_. _Thirst._

    Arrowroot, 125, 138.

    Barras quoted on the sensibility of the stomach, 85.

    Bathing improper immediately after meals, 295.

    Beaumont, Dr, his view of the exciting cause of hunger, 18.
      Quoted on mastication, 53.
      His observations on the stomach of a patient named St Martin,
          quoted, 73, 78, 88, 106, 112, 128, 133, _et seq._, 283, 285,
          289, 308, 319.
      Makes little pretension to the honour of discovery, 108, 147.
      Summary of inferences drawn from his experiments, 147.
      Quoted on the quantity of food proper to be eaten, 219.

    Bile secreted by the liver, 173.
      Account of it, 174.
      Not found in the stomach during health, 175.
      Its presence there facilitates the digestion of fat and oily
          food, 285.

    Birds, gizzards of granivorous, 50, 71.

    Blaine quoted on hunger, 20.

    Bladder, 170.

    Blood circulated in the stomach increased by its action, 77, 289.
      Breathing necessary for the conversion of chyle into blood, 168.
      Fulness of blood, 240.
      Bloodletting improper immediately after meals, 295.

    Bloodvessels of the stomach, 76.

    Boarding-schools, time for breakfast and dinner in, 193, 201, 205.
      Insufficient food often given there, 250, 277.

    Bowels described, 154.
      Their different coats--
        the peritoneal, 156;
        muscular, 158;
        and mucous, 160.
      Action of purgatives on the, 158, 162.
      Contain air, 160.
      Their sympathy with the skin, 161.
      Excretion and absorption of the, 161.
      Conditions essential to their perfect action, 169.
      Their vermicular or peristaltic motion, 158, 179, 330.
      Their nerves, 169.
      Why most open when vegetable food is used, 183, 326.
      Do not naturally require the aid of laxatives, 238.
      Their uses, 324;
        as an outlet of waste matter, 325.
      Their action bears a relation to the kind of food, 326.
      Causes of their inactivity considered, 330.
      Natural aids to their action, 159, 330.
      General neglect of these, 331.
      Bad health thence arising, 332.
      Their regularity important, 337.

    Bowel-complaint frequently produced by chill of the skin, 162, 325.

    Brachet, his experiments shewing that hunger is an affection of the
        brain, 14.
      Quoted on hunger, 20.

    Brain the seat of the sensations of hunger and thirst, 12.
      Should not be overtasked in childhood, 271.
      Influence of its state upon digestion, 296, _et seq._

    Breakfast, proper time for, 193.
      Labour before it improper without refreshment, 193.
      Diseases easily caught before breakfast, 194.
      Reading newspapers during it improper, 52.
      Liquid food necessary, 307.

    Brigham, Dr, referred to, 271.

    Caldwell, Dr, quoted on intemperate eating in America, 223;
      on the influence of the state of the brain as a source of
          indigestion, 301.

    Carnivorous animals have small organs of digestion, 68, 140, 145.
      Their existence necessary, 98.
      Their gastric juice, 102.

    Carsewell, Prof., on softening and erosion of the dead stomach by
        the gastric juice, 99, _note_.

    Cassius, his leanness as described by Shakspeare, 300.

    Cheerfulness promotes digestion, 126, 297.

    Chewing, 40.
      See _Mastication_.

    Chicken, 286.

    Children, great importance of regulating their diet properly, 204,
        232.
      Prevalent error of over-feeding them, 233, 273.
      Suffer also from deficiency of food, 249.
      Animal diet not to be given them too early, 264.
      Impropriety of tasking and confining them too much at school,
          269.
      Dull children often become talented men, 270.
      Whether they ought to be allowed wine, 315.

    Cholera, loss of the fluid parts of the body in, 38, 162, 305.

    Chyle, 62.
      Its composition the same, from whatever food derived, 58.
      Chylification described, 152.
      This subject rather obscure, 153.
      Chyle converted into blood in the lungs, 167.

    Chyme, 62, 127.

    Clark, Dr, on the great importance of the proper regulation of diet
        in youth, 266, 267, 276.

    Clarke, Adam, a dunce at school, 270.

    Climate ought to modify food, 143.
      Appetite in warm climates, 28.

    Coagulation of milk and albumen by gastric juice, 100, 116.

    Cœcum, 178.

    Coffee, 209, 307, 312.

    Colon described, 178.

    Condiments, 150.

    Constitution, food ought to vary according to, 252.
      Susceptible of being greatly modified by regimen, 279.

    Consumption, pulmonary, how productive of leanness of the body,
        167.
      Often the result of mismanagement of diet in childhood, 266, 276.

    Cornaro, 226.

    Costiveness, causes of, 159, 239, 326.
      How removable, 329.

    Cumberland, Richard, beneficial effects of his temperate habits,
        299.

    Deffand, Madame de, quoted, 19.

    Deglutition of food, 55.

    Diet. See _Food_. _Meals._

    Dietetics, principles of, viewed in relation to the laws of
        digestion, 187.

    Digestion vigorous and rapid in proportion to the quantity of
        nourishment required by the body, 22.
      Organs of, described, 58, _et seq._
      Its wonderful power of reducing the most opposite varieties of
          food to the same substance, 58.
      Nervous energy essential to, 83, 296.
      Different theories of, 109.
      Is a chemico-vital process, 111.
      Conditions requisite for it--
        1. A sufficiency of gastric juice, 112;
        2. A temperature of 98° or 100°, 119;
        and, 3. Gentle agitation of the contents of the stomach, 121.
      Aided by laughter and cheerfulness, 126.
      Ill performed when previous meal remains in stomach, 129.
      Comparative digestibility of different kinds of food, 133.
      Time required for digestion of the same article different in
          different states of the body, 136.
      Animal food more digestible than vegetable, 118, 138, 281, 283;
        and why, 140.
      A proper selection of food not the only requisite of good
          digestion, 188.
      Is the temperature of the stomach raised during digestion? 146.
      Vegetable food partly digested in the intestines, 180.
      Vigorous in youth, 272.
      Retarded by bodily or mental exertion immediately before or after
          eating, 288, _et seq._
      Intellectual vivacity diminished while digestion is going on,
          290, 296.
      Influence of the mind upon digestion, 296, _et seq._

    Dinner, proper time for, 199.
      Necessity of early dinner-hours for children, 204.
      Fashionable late dinner-hours, 207.
      Relaxation necessary after dinner, 208.
      Time for dinner ought to vary with circumstances, 209.
      Second courses, 226.
      Drams at, 323.

    Dressmakers, an improvement in the regulation of their
        establishments suggested, 230.

    Drink necessary to supply the waste of the liquid portions of the
        body, 36.
      Bad effects when withheld, 37.
      Absorbed directly from the stomach into the system, 38, 79, 117,
          140, 195.
      Temperature of drinks considered, 308.
      Water as a drink, 314.
      Wine and other fermented liquors, 314.
      Spirits hurtful, 316.
      Sudden changes of its temperature hurtful to the teeth, 45.
      See _Liquid_. _Thirst._

    Dunglison’s Elements of Hygiene quoted and recommended, 305, 311.

    Duodenum, 62, 170.

    Eating ought not to be too rapid, 51, 122.
      Times of, 188.
      Eating too much, a prolific source of disease, 24, 219.
      Conditions to be observed before and after eating, 273.
      See _Food_. _Meals._

    Epiglottis, 55.

    Excrement, 153, 178.

    Excretion of waste matter into the bowels, 161.

    Exercise renders appetite keen, 19, 21, _et seq._
      Prevents costiveness, 180, 332.
      Improper immediately before and after meals, 288.

    Farinaceous food, 118, 138, 284.

    Fat and oily food, 281, 285.

    Fermentation and digestion different processes, 110.

    Fermented liquors, 314.

    Fever, loss of appetite during it a wise arrangement, 31, 107.

    Fish, 286.

    Fluids. See _Drink_. _Liquid._ _Thirst._

    Follicles of the stomach, 77.

    Food necessary to supply waste of the substance of living beings,
        5.
      Requisite quantity varies according to circumstances, 6,
          _et seq._
      Warning given by hunger when food is required, 10, 11, 19, 218.
      Most necessary during growth, 22, 315;
        and when the life is active, 23, _et seq._
      Error of eating too much, 24, _et seq._, 219.
      Thirst varies in intensity according to the kind of food, 37.
      Mastication, 40,
        insalivation, 49,
        and deglutition of food, 55.
      Its quality modifies the amount of saliva secreted, 53.
      The most opposite kinds of food reduced by digestion to the same
          substance, 58.
      Different stages through which food passes between its reception
          into the stomach and its assimilation, 61.
      Size of the stomach varies according to its quality, 67.
      Advantages of our want of consciousness of its presence in the
          stomach, 85.
      Sudden and extreme changes of diet injurious; and why, 103.
      Ought not to be rapidly swallowed, 51, 122.
      Thoroughly mixed with the gastric juice in the stomach, 124.
      Concentrated food, why digested with difficulty, 125, 142, 326.
      Ought not to be taken till previous meal is digested, 129.
      Comparative digestibility of different kinds of, 133.
      Animal food more digestible and nutritious than vegetable, 118,
          138, 281, 283;
        and why, 141.
      Farinaceous food, 118, 138, 284.
      Soup, 117, 125, 139, 281, 312.
      Changes of food in the bowels, 152.
      Injection of food into the bowels, 164.
      Times of eating, 188.
      Quantity to be eaten, 218.
      Bad effects of eating too much, 222.
      Are mixtures of food hurtful?, 226.
      Food of children, 204, 232.
      Food of the poor too scanty, 247.
      Errors of over-feeding and underfeeding children, 234, 249, 259,
          273.
      Proper food of man, 251.
      Different kinds of food suitable in different climates, 143;
        for different constitutions, 252;
        and at different ages, 255.
      Sensations after eating furnish a valuable guide, 280.
      Food of invalids, 286.

    French meals, 210.
      See _Meals_. _Eating._

    Gall-bladder, 174.
      Gall-stones, 175.

    Game, 286.

    Gastric juice, 61, 87.
      Secreted only when there is food in the stomach, 93.
      Its chemical composition, 96.
      Acts only upon dead inorganic substances, 97.
      Its power of coagulating milk and albumen, 100, 116.
      Its antiseptic quality, 100, 117.
      Adapted in different animals to the nature of the food, 101.
      Modified in the same individual according to the wants of the
          system, 104.
      On which of its elements does its solvent power depend?, 112.
      The amount secreted always in proportion to the quantity of
          aliment required by the body, 105, 220.
      Its secretion retarded by disagreeable mental emotions and
          feverishness, 106, 322.
      Indispensable to digestion, 112.
      Thoroughly mixed with the food in the stomach, 124.
      Adaptation of food to its qualities in different individuals,
          141.
      Quantity secreted at each meal, 289.
      Time occupied by its secretion, 295.

    Gizzard of granivorous birds, 50, 71.

    Grief enfeebles digestion, 126, 297.

    Growth, periods of, require an increased supply of food in
        vegetables, 8;
          and animals, 9, 22, 221.
      Diet during, 315.

    Gullet, 55.

    Head, Sir Francis, quoted on the quantities of cold water drunk at
        the brunnens of Nassau, 196;
          and on the prejudicial effects of intemperate eating, 222.

    Heidler, case quoted from, 229.

    Herbivorous animals have large organs of digestion, 68, 140, 145.
      Their gastric juice, 102.
      The digestion of their food partly effected in the intestines,
          180.

    Hippocrates, his theory of digestion, 109.

    Horse, should not have diet suddenly changed, 103.
      Digestion of the, 181.
      Is not fed immediately before or after a journey, 293.
      May sometimes drink a little though perspiring, 313.

    Hufeland quoted on the beneficial influence of laughter in aiding
        digestion, 127.

    Hunger, necessity of the sense of, as a warning that food is
        required, 10, 218.
      An affection of the brain, 12.
      Allayed by narcotics, 14, 15.
      Influenced by mental emotions, 16.
      By what condition of the stomach is it excited?, 17.
      Felt keenly when the body is in need of repair, 19, _et seq._
      Sharpened by muscular exercise, 19, 21.
      Its absence during fever a wise arrangement, 31.
      Susceptible of being trained, 32.
      Error of confounding it with taste, 33.
      Morbid cravings of hunger when food is not required, 34.
      Instances of extraordinary voracity, 35.
      Periodicity of, 189.
      Does not return till stomach has been for some time empty, 190.

    Hydra, stomach of the, 63.

    Ices and ice-creams hurtful after a meal, 309.
      Ice useful in warm weather when used with caution, 311.
      Examples in Italy and Virginia, 311.

    Ileum, 177.

    Indigestion, why prevalent among sedentary persons, 29, 301.
      Injures the teeth, 47.
      Often beneficial in warding off more serious diseases, 245.
      Caused by grief, anxiety, and over-study, 126, 297.

    Infants, food proper for, as indicated by the state of their teeth,
        45.
      Diet of, 232, 256.
      Prevalent errors in the treatment of, 233.
      Proper time for weaning them, 263.
      See _Children_.

    Infection, why most easily caught before breakfast, 194.

    Injection of food into the bowels, 164.

    Insalivation of food, 49.

    Intemperate eating a prevalent cause of disease, 222.
      Drinking, 319.

    Intestines described, 154.
      See _Bowels_.

    Jejunum, 177.

    Jelly, 125.

    Kitchiner, Dr, quoted on digestion, 120, 190.

    Lacteals, 62, 163.

    La Trappe, diet of the monks of, 191.

    Laughter aids digestion, 127, 297.

    Laxatives, 158, 238, 326.

    Lent, rapid recovery of the sick in Catholic countries during it,
        222.

    Liquid food, 79, 117, 139, 281, 304.
      Too cold or hot injurious, 308, 312.
      Different kinds in use, 314.

    Literary men, indigestion of, 209, 297.

    Liver, its function, 173.

    Londe, Dr, quoted on the digestion of vegetables, 182.
      On the diet of infants, 235.

    Luncheon, 203.

    Lungs, how wasting of the body is produced by their disease, 167.
      See _Consumption_.

    Lymphatics, 164.

    Mastication, process of, described, 40.
      Its apparatus various in different animals according to the
          nature of their food, 50.
      Bad effects when mastication is incomplete, 51.
      Purpose of, 53.

    Meals, at what times and after what intervals they ought to be
        taken, 187, _et seq._
      Relaxation necessary after them, 208.
      Principles on which their times and number ought to be fixed,
          213.
      Conduct proper before and after meals, 288.
      Inaptitude for bodily and mental exertion after them, 290.
      Rest and tranquillity then necessary, 291.
      Whether drink is proper during meals, 306.
      French Meals, 210.
      See _Food_. _Eating._

    Meconium, 238.

    Menstruation ceases during pregnancy and suckling, 262.

    Mesenteric glands, 166.

    Mesentery, 157.

    Mesocolon, 158.

    Milk, coagulated in the stomach by the gastric juice, 100, 116.
      Digested with ease, 139.
      The natural food of infants, 237, 256.
      Causes of its vitiation in mothers, 259.

    Milliners, an improvement in the management of their establishments
        suggested, 230.

    Mind, its influence on appetite for food, 16.
      Deteriorated by defective nutrition, 249.
      Its efficiency depends on the health of the body, 106, 126.
      Ought to rest during digestion, 291.
      Its influence on digestion, 296, _et seq._

    Mirth promotes digestion, 126, 297.

    Mixtures of food, whether prejudicial, 226.

    Montègre’s opinion of the use of the saliva, 54, 99.

    Morning, exposure before breakfast often dangerous, 194.
      Vigour of the system then least, 198.

    Mortality of children, 233.
      Mortality greatest among the poor, 248.

    Mothers generally ignorant of the rational mode of treating
        children, 232.
      Their duties in relation to suckling, 258.

    Mucous or villous coat of the stomach, 74;
      and intestines, 160, 172.

    Muscular coat of the stomach, 72;
      and intestines, 158.
      Muscular exercise. See _Exercise_.

    Mutilation of animals, unsatisfactory nature of experiments so
        made, 82.

    Napoleon not a bright schoolboy, 270.

    Narcotics allay hunger, 14, 15.

    Nerves of the stomach, 21, 79.
      Of the bowels, 169.

    Nervous energy essential to digestion, 83, 296.

    Newton, Sir Isaac, a dull schoolboy, 270.

    Nursing of children, 233, _et seq._ 256.
      Nurses ought not to be overfed, 260.

    Nutrition required to repair waste of substance in living beings,
        5.
      See _Food_.

    Œsophagus, 55.

    Operatives ought not to resume work immediately after meals, 298.

    Opium allays hunger, 15.

    Pancreas, and pancreatic juice, 62, 176.

    Paris, Dr, an opinion of his controverted, 137.

    Pastry not easily digestible, 285.

    Periodicity of appetite, 189.

    Peristaltic motion of the bowels, 158, 179, 330.

    Peritoneum, 72, 156.

    Perspiration affects the other secretions, 325.

    Philip, Dr Wilson, an opinion of his controverted, 128.

    Pneumogastric nerve, 80.

    Poor have larger stomachs than the rich, 67.
      Their food too scanty and innutritious, 247.
      Their minds thereby deteriorated, 249.

    Precocity of talent little to be desired, 270.

    Purgatives, their mode of action, 158, 162.
      Not required by nature, 238.
      When improper, 329.

    Putrefaction, digestion different from, 110.

    Pylorus, 67.
      Allows only digested food to issue from the stomach, 132.

    Quantity of food proper to be eaten, 218.

    Rapid eating improper, 51, 122.

    Reading during meals improper, 52.

    Rectum, 179.

    Respiration, use of, 63.
      Digestion aided by, 126, 180.
      Necessary for the conversion of chyle into blood, 168.
      Aids the action of the bowels, 332.

    Rice, 118, 138, 284.

    Roget, Dr, quoted on nutrition, 26;
      on varieties of food, 59.

    Rumination of animals, 42, 50.
      Stomach of ruminants described, 69.

    Sago, 138, 284.

    Saliva, secretion and purpose of, 49.
      Its amount greatest when food spicy, 53.
      Different in quality from gastric juice, 99.

    Salt meat, how productive of thirst, 37.

    Sanguification, 63, 167.

    Satiety, 220.

    Schools, children too much confined and tasked in, 269.
      See _Boarding Schools_.

    Scrofula frequently the result of a penurious diet, 250, 278;
      also of too exciting food, 276.

    Sedentary habits, how productive of indigestion, 24, 301;
      and costiveness, 159, 180, 332.
      Less food required by sedentary than by active persons, 228, 299.

    Sheridan a dunce at school, 270.

    Siesta, 295.

    Skin, its sympathy with the bowels, 161, 325.

    Smith, Dr Southwood, quoted, 185, 248.

    Soldiers, private, why inferior in strength and health to officers,
        248.
      Ought not to eat immediately after a march, 293.

    Soup, digestion of, 117, 125, 139, 281, 312.

    Spirits, their indiscriminate use hurtful, 316.

    Spittle, 49.
      See _Saliva_.

    Spleen, 170.

    St Martin, Alexis, remarkable case of, 88.
      Suggestion as to farther observations on, 92, _note_.
      See _Beaumont_.

    Stays injure the action of the bowels, 159, 180, 333.

    Stomach, peculiar to animals, 6.
      By what state of it is hunger excited?, 17.
      Its sympathy with the rest of the body, 18, _et seq._
      Described, 63, _et seq._
      Stomach in the lowest class of animals, 63.
      In man, 65.
      Various in size, according to quantity and quality of food, 67.
      Stomach of ruminating animals described, 68.
      Coats of the stomach--external, 72;
        muscular, 72;
        and mucous or villous, 74.
      Its muscular action, 73.
      Its bloodvessels and follicles, 76.
      Its sanguineous circulation increased during digestion, 78.
      Its power of absorbing fluids, 38, 79, 117, 140, 195.
      Its nerves, 21, 79.
      Contracts when each morsel is introduced, 122.
      Its motion during digestion, 124.
      Is its temperature then increased?, 146.
      Contains no bile in the healthy state, 175.
      Sensibility of the, a sign of disease, 85.
      Numerous diseases unjustly laid to its charge, 241.

    Study before breakfast, 193, 196.
      After meals, 297.
      See _Literary Men_.

    Suckling of infants, 233, 256.

    Supper, in what cases proper, 211.

    Swallowing, process of, 55.

    Sympathetic nerve, 84.

    Tartar on the teeth, 46.

    Tasso, his genius precocious, 270.

    Taste, error of confounding it with appetite, 33.
      Its gratification proper, 51.

    Tea, 209, 307, 312.

    Teeth described, 43.
      Modified in different animals to suit their habits of life, 42.
      Milk-teeth, 44.
      Changes of the condition of the teeth indicate the propriety of
          certain kinds of diet, 45, 256.
      Necessity of keeping them clean, 46.
      Impaired by indigestion, 47.
      Sudden changes of temperature hurtful to them, 48.

    Temperaments, different, require different kinds and quantities of
        food, 252.
      May be greatly modified by regimen, 279.

    Temperance in eating may be carried too far, 250.
      Temperance Societies, 319.

    Temperature necessary for digestion, 119.
      Whether that of the stomach is thereby increased, 146.
      That of drinks considered, 308.

    Thinking, intense, impedes digestion, 296.

    Thirst necessary as a warning when drink is required by the system,
        10, 36, 304.
      Nature of, 12, 36.
      Greatest when body in need of liquid nourishment, 36.
      Varies in intensity according to nature of the food, 37.
      Consequences of its craving not being gratified, 37.
      See _Drink_.

    Thoracic duct, 62, 166.

    Time in which the digestion of an article is effected varies with
        circumstances, 136.
      Times of eating, 188.

    Tobacco allays hunger, 15.

    Tooth-powders, 46.

    Travelling before breakfast frequently improper, 106.
      Diet in travelling, 216.

    Trituration, digestion not effected by, 110.

    Vegetables, continual waste of their substance, 3.
      How repaired, 5.
      Quantity of nourishment requisite for them varies with
          circumstances, 7.
      Principle of forcing their growth, 8.

    Vegetable food less digestible than animal, 118, 138, 281, 283;
      and why, 140.
      Also less nutritious, 139.
      Its digestion effected to some extent in the intestines, 181.
      Why more laxative than animal food, 183, 326.

    Venison, 286.

    Vermicular motion of the bowels, 158, 179, 330.

    Villous or mucous coat of the stomach, 75;
      and bowels, 160.

    Vomiting, inverted action of the gullet and bowels in, 57, 158.
      Vomiting of bile, 175.

    Voracity, remarkable instances of, 35.

    Waste universally the attendant of action, 1.
      Food the means of repairing it in living beings, 5.
        See _Food_.
      Waste matter excreted into the bowels, 161, 325.

    Water safe as a drink, 314.
      Cold spring-water dangerous when person overheated, 308.

    Water-brash, 77.

    Weaning of infants, proper time for, 263.

    Wine, how productive of thirst, 37.
      Circumstances in which its use is proper and improper, 314.
      Preferable to spirits, 318.

    Worms in the bowels, 163.

    Youth, appetite keen and digestion vigorous in, 22.
      Importance of properly regulating the times of eating in youth,
          204.
      Supper frequently necessary, 212.
      Importance of attending to the development of the body in youth,
          271.
      Period of transition from youth to manhood a critical season,
          231.
      Diseases of the stomach and bowels why then common, 335.
      See _Children_. _Infancy._ _Mothers._

                                FINIS.

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                             OBSERVATIONS

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                        By ANDREW COMBE, M. D.

In the above work, dedicated to the elucidation of the Causes,
Symptoms, Nature, and Treatment of the various Morbid States of the
Brain and Nervous System which are productive of Insanity, the Author
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are guided in our investigations into diseases of the other bodily
organs, and to point out the analogy which subsists between many of
these and the less familiar affections of the nervous system.

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FOOTNOTES:

[1] British and Foreign Medical Review, vol. ii. p. 378.

[2] Spectator, 7th May 1836.

[3] Dyspepsia (from the Greek words δυς, _dus_, bad, and πεπτω,
_pepto_, I concoct) is synonymous with indigestion.

[4] Brachet, Recherches Experimentales sur les Fonctions du Système
Nerveux Ganglionaire, chap. iii. Paris edition.

[5] It is difficult, as in the above sentence, to avoid occasionally
using expressions and referring to processes, which have not previously
been explained; but it would only lead to confusion and unnecessary
repetition to stop at every page and introduce explanations, which,
after all, the reader would scarcely understand on account of their
brevity. In the present instance, therefore, where I allude to the
process of digestion, it is better to refer the reader to the outline
given at the beginning of Chapter IV, than to distract his attention by
introducing it also here.

[6] Vol. iii, p. 40. Paris, 1809.

[7] Brachet, Recherches Experimentales sur les Fonctions du Système
Nerveux Ganglionaire, p. 181.

[8] Blaine’s Outlines of the Veterinary Art, third edition, p. 273.

[9] Roget’s Bridgewater Treatise on Animal and Vegetable Physiology,
vol. ii. p. 112.

[10] Principles of Physiology, &c., chapters IV. and V.

[11] See p. 14.

[12] For some very curious details on this subject, the reader may
consult the last Edition of Dr Mackintosh’s Practice of Physic.

[13] In Latin, _cuspis_ signifies the point of a spear; _canis_, a dog;
_mola_, a mill; _incisor_, any thing which cuts.

[14] M. Cadet de Gassicourt recommends the following compound as a safe
and excellent dentrifrice, viz. of white sugar and powdered charcoal
each one ounce, of Peruvian bark half an ounce, of cream of tartar
one drachm and a half, and of canella twenty-four grains, well rubbed
together into an impalpable powder. He describes it as strengthening to
the gums and cleansing to the teeth, and as destroying the disagreeable
odour in the breath which so often arises from decaying teeth; and as a
_preventive_ of toothach, I have heard washing the mouth and teeth
twice a-day with salt and water strongly recommended by a gentleman who
had both experienced and observed much benefit from it.

[15] Experiments and Observations on the Gastric Juice and the
Physiology of Digestion, by William Beaumont, M.D. Platsburgh, 1833, p.
67.

[16] See Roget’s Bridgewater Treatise, note at p. 58, vol. ii.

[17] Id. vol. ii. p. 59.

[18] For a full explanation of the nature, importance, and laws of
respiration, see the author’s Principles of Physiology, &c. 4th
edition, chap. vii.

[19] Cuvier’s Règne Animal, vol. ii. p. 295.

[20] The above descriptions and figure are taken, with slight
alterations, from the Treatise on Animal Physiology in the Library of
Useful Knowledge.

[21] Principles of Physiology, 4th edition, &c. pp. 142, 192, and 277.

[22] From πνευμων, _pneumon_, a lung, and γαστηρ, _gaster_,
the stomach, or _lung and stomach_ nerve.

[23] Philosophy of Health, vol. i. p. 80.

[24] Cyclop. Pract. Med. vol. ii. p. 635.

[25] I cannot help thinking that, if St Martin be still alive, which
is most likely, the Royal Society would do honour to themselves and
render an essential service to science, by using their influence and
means to have him brought over to this country and subjected, under
the direction of a committee, to such further experiments as may
throw light upon a variety of important points which Dr Beaumont, as
an individual, had it not in his power adequately to investigate. In
throwing out this suggestion, I need scarcely add, that I am far from
undervaluing what that gentleman has accomplished, and that I consider
it no disparagement to him to say, that he has left some subjects of
interest connected with the inquiry still undetermined. Dr Beaumont has
done his part too honourably and too well to risk any loss of credit
by the subsequent researches of others; and as a case so pre-eminently
favourable for carrying on the investigation may never occur again,
it is the more necessary to turn it to the best possible account
while it is yet time. If funds be wanting for the purpose, it is not
unreasonable to suppose that Government would at once grant them, were
the request urged by such an influential scientific body as the Royal
Society, particularly as a few hundred pounds would suffice. If this
suggestion shall ever be acted upon, special care should be taken not
to injure St Martin’s health by withdrawing him entirely from his
accustomed diet and mode of life, otherwise the whole value of the
experiment may be lost--the object being to _ascertain the laws and
conditions of_ HEALTHY DIGESTION.

[26] The reader will find the same line of argument most eloquently
and successfully pursued by Dr Buckland in his admirable Bridgewater
treatise on “_Geology considered with reference to Natural
Theology_,” which appeared subsequently to the first edition of this
volume.

[27] Professor Carsewell of the London University has rendered an
essential service to practical medicine, as well as morbid anatomy,
by demonstrating, in an excellent paper published in the 34th volume
of the Edin. Med. and Surg. Journal, that softening and erosion of
the stomach, considered by Broussais and others as always results
of inflammatory irritation during life, are generally caused by the
digestive action of the gastric juice after death. The essay is well
worthy of an attentive perusal; but it would carry me too far to notice
it here at greater length.

[28] Macgillivray’s Description of the Rapacious Birds of Great
Britain, p. 24.

[29] Blaine’s Veterinary Art, 3d edit. p. 247.

[30] Art of Invigorating and Prolonging Life, 3d edition, p. 160.

[31] Art of Prolonging Human Life, English edition. London, 1829. P.
282.

[32] Paris on Diet, p. 93.

[33] The inferences are given in Dr Beaumont’s own words, and the
italics also are his. It is needless to say that Dr Beaumont does not
present these inferences as _discoveries_. Most of them were known
before; but he has the merit of adding greatly to the strength of the
evidence on which they rest, and of substituting certainty for doubt in
many instances. The very title of “Inferences” which he modestly gives
them, implies that he does not even consider them as proved, and still
less as discoveries; although a learned reviewer of the first edition
charges him with this presumption.

[34] Principles of Physiology, &c. chap. ii

[35] Londe, Elemens d’Hygiène, tome ii. p. 16.

[36] Bubbles from the Brunnens of Nassau.

[37] See the Principles of Physiology, &c. chap. iii. p. 87.

[38] Respecting the proper regulation of exercise, see The Principles
of Physiology, chap. iv. p. 144.

[39] Beaumont’s Observations, &c., p. 63.

[40] Transylvania Journal of Medicine for September 1832, p. 313. See
also Dr Caldwell’s excellent Thoughts on Physical Education, and the
True Mode of Improving the Condition of Man; reprinted for A. and C.
Black, Edinburgh, 1836.

[41] Abercrombie on Diseases of the Stomach, &c., 1st edition, p. 72.

[42] The Art of Prolonging and Invigorating Life. 3d ed., p. 168.

[43] Art of Invigorating, &c., p. 171.

[44] Heidler. Marienbad, et ses differens moyens curatifs dans les
maladies chroniques, p. 62.

[45] Principles of Physiology, &c. chap. vii. p. 256, and chap. x. p.
372.

[46] Londe, Elemens d’Hygiène, vol. ii. p. 161.

[47] Smith’s Philosophy of Health, Chapter IV.

[48] Clark on Consumption and Scrofula, p. 823.

[49] On this and kindred subjects, the reader will find much valuable
information in Dr Brigham’s Remarks on the Influence of Mental
Cultivation and Mental Excitement upon Health; reprinted, with
excellent practical Notes, by Dr Robert Macnish. 2d edition, Glasgow,
1836.

[50] Clark on Pulmonary Consumption and Scrofula, p. 230.

[51] Dr Forbes in Cyclop. Pract. Medic., vol. i. p. 698, foot-note.

[52] Abercrombie on Diseases of the Stomach, &c. 1st edit. p. 73.

[53] Beaumont’s Experiments and Observations, &c. p. 243.

[54] Beaumont’s Experiments and Observations, &c. p. 249.

[55] Beaumont’s Experiments and Observations, &c., p. 185.

[56] Cumberland’s Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 204.

[57] Art of Invigorating Life, 3d. ed. pl. 73.

[58] Caldwell’s Thoughts on Physical Education, p. 94.

[59] See Professor Dunglison’s Elements of Hygiene, p. 324, in which
the reader will find a great variety of very useful information on all
the branches of the subject. The remarks on the different kinds of food
and drink are among the best which I have met with.

[60] Dunglison’s Elements of Hygiene, p. 331.

[61] Beaumont’s Experiments and Observations, &c. p. 237.

Transcriber’s Notes:

1. Obvious printers’, punctuation and spelling errors have been
corrected silently.

2. Where hyphenation is in doubt, it has been retained as in the
original.

3. Some hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions of the same words have
been retained as in the original.

4. Where appropriate, the original spelling has been retained.

5. Italics are shown as _xxx_.