The Sun.
London, England, 1834-10-15 00:00:00

THE PASSIONS.

There is perhaps no secretion that is more imme-
diately influenced by the passions than that of saliva.
The sight of a delicious repast to a hungry man is not
more effectual in exciting the salivary secretion, than
is the operation of fear and anxiety in repressing and
suspending it. Is it then unreasonable to believe, that
a person under the influence of conscious guilt, will
unable, from the dryness of his mouth, to surrender the
rice in that soft state, which an innocent individual,
with an undimished supply of saliva, will so easily ac-
complish ? To which the answer is obvious. I might
here indulge in some remarks on the influence of mind
on matter, of the passions on the nervous system, and
the different secretions of the body ;—thus grief, fear,
and anxiety, not only repress the secretion of saliva,
but also that of the gastric juice, and therefore impede
digestion. Bad news after a full meal will probably
produce nausea and vomiting, and, before a meal, it
will instantly take away the appetite. Thus that mas-
ter of the human heart, our immortal poet, makes
Henry VIII. say to Cardinal Wolsey, when he handed
to him those papers through which the Cardinal was
deprived of all his wealth and honours, and hurled
from the pinnacle of ambition down to the ground—
" Read o'er this, and after, this ; and then to break-
fast with what appetite you may."
These passions increase the secretion of tears and
of urine, and sometimes relax the sphincters ; and
though called the depressing passions, yet they often,
like joy, produce palpitation of the heart, and increase
the arterial action. I remember Dr. Gregory relating
an anecdote of an officer, who was much disliked on
account of the severity of his discipline. One day
when he was exercising his men, a ball was fired at him,
happily without effect ; of course this led to an imme-
diate scrutiny ; the muskets were examined, and the
cartridge boxes searched, but nothing was discovered
which could implicate one man more than another.
At length the search being fruitless, a corporal offered
to find out the delinquent. The men were ordered to
resume their ranks, and each one to hold out his hand.
Our corporal, with the sagacity of a philosopher, went
from man to man, and from rank to rank, gravely feel-
ing the pulse of each one. At last, sternly addressing
one of them, he said, " You are the man !" With
hesitating speech the soldier denied the accusation, but
afterwards, on the promise, confessed his guilt. Vio-
lent anger acts on the liver, and with some produces
jaundice. Excessive joy excites the whole system,
produces a species of mental intoxication, causing
jumping, dancing, singing, laughing and crying, in-
coherent speech, with confusion of ideas, and some-
times ends in confirmed insanity.—Dr. Graham's Lec-
tures, in the London Medical and Surgical Journal.

BRISTOL COAL TRADE.—Nothing is more agree-
able to us than to report to our readers any improvement in the
business of the port of Bristol. This new source of industry
and profit, the coal trade, increases rapidly, and both mer-
chants and housekeepers now take the Bristol Coal. In the
past month there was an excess of business upon the Coalpit
Heath Railroad, over the preceding month, of more than 400
tons.—Bristol Mercury.

FILIAL RESPECT.—When parents (says Mr.
cease to be honoured by their children, and the feel-
Beckfort2,\
ings of gratei,.."l
subordination in those of helpless age or con-
dition are unknown,
Kings will soon cease to reign, and re-
publics to be governea4
_hv the councils of experience. Anar-
chy, rapine, and massacre w:11 walk the earth, and the abode of
demons be transferred from hell !o our unfortunate planet.
A MONSTER.—On Wedriegflay, a journeyman
chimney-sweep was placed at the bar of the Police Court,
accused of forcing a little boy up a vent in Grwme,street,
Gallowgate, on the preceding day, and from thence into an
iron pipe, which ran along a lobby, at right angles, with the
chimney. It appeared from the evidence of a gentleman who
took considerable interest in the matter, that the pipe—in
which the little fellow, without any covering, stuck, and where
he was wedged for about three hours, so firmly that after the
wall which covered the aperture had been broken down, it took
two individuals to pull him out--was only about 8i inches in
diameter at the mouth, and four and a half at the upper extre-
mity ; and it was proved that the monster of a journeyman
threatened to put fire under him and roast him alive, if he did
not force himself through, after having struck the boy with a
brush previous to his ascension. On his extrication, as might
have been expected, the boy appeared to be greatly exhausted ;
and it was only after the administration of some cordials that
he was enabled to speak. The case began to assume such an
aspect, that the Court determined to remit it for farther inves-
tigation alid prosecution to the Chamber—Bailie Lumsdcn
remarking, that it was one of the most brutal and unparalleled
cases of atrocity that he had ever heard of in that or any other
court. The boy, who seems to be from seven to eight years
of age, and h w ose appearance is smart and prepossessing, said
he had been engaged to a chimney-sweeper in the. Gallowgate,
by his mother, for a year ; and that his father had recently
absconded.—Scots Times.