St. Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1845-1863, 1862-08-28

neous, separating ibe gases. as well as as
sorting and rejecting the matrrial impui!
ties of the atmosphere. This unaccounta-
Bile phenomenon Is seen ir< many cases.
We see the fish. surrounded with water,
breathing the air upon which il exists L.
Ii is a known fact that man can inhalc
through his nose. for n certain time, me-
plitic air, in the bottom of well without
h,,rn,; hut ii he opens his mouth TO answer
A q,sssfisf Meals Ger hattsi2 tlsst pxssiz
.risn. his fungs arc closed. and he expires.
Most animals are abb. tn inhale the same
for considerable time without destruction
of life. and, no. ,lnmht, solely from the fact
that their respiration is through the nos
trilS in which thr poisonous rtfiuvia are ar
rested. There are MANY mineral and veg
riablc poi>onS also which can be inhaled by
the nose without harm. bu' If taken through
the mouth destroy life AMI so with poi
s"nous reptiles ana poisonous animals. =
The man who kills the rattle snake or the
copperhrad, aud stands alone over it. keeps
his mouth shut. and receives no harm; but
if he has companions with him, with whom
he is conver>ing over the carcaSses Of these
reptiles. he inhalrs the poisonous efiluvia
through his mouth, and becomes deadly
SEX. and i'll some instances death cnsucs
lntinitcsimal insects, also, not visible to the
naked eye, are inhabitiLg every drop of
water We drink, and every breath of air we
breathe; and minute particles of vegetable
substances, as well as of poisonous miner
ais. and even glass and sil, X, which flout
lnprrcepfibly in the pil. are DISCOVERED
coating the respiratory organs Of man: and
the class OF birds which catch their food in
the air with open mouths rs they fy. re-
celve these things in quantities, even il the
hollow of their bones, where they are car
ried and lodged by the current Of air, aud
detected by microscopic investigation
Against the approach of these things to
the lungs and to the eyes nature has pre-
pared the guard by the mucous and organ
lc arrangements, calculated to arrest their
progress. Were it not fo~ the liquid in the
eye, arrcstng, neutralizing aud carrying
out the particles Of dust communicated
through the atmosphere, man would soon
become blind: and but for the mucus in his
no>trlIS, absorbing and carrying off the
poisonous PARTICLES and cfiluvia for the pro-
Ircri"n of he lungs and the brain, mental
dcrang"m"nt, CONSUMPTION of the lungs
and death would ,n>ue
How easy anu how reasonable it is to
suppose, then, that the Inhalation of such
things t" tn" lungs, through the expanded
mouth and throat, may be 4 cause of con-
sumption and othrr fatal diseases attaching
10 the respiratory organs; and how fair a
eupp"Sitinn, also. that the draths from the
rcarful rJidcmics, such as cholera, yellow
fever. and other pcsiilenccs, are caused by
Fhc iuhala'ion of aIinalculn in the infect
ed districts: and that the victims to those.
diseases are thos" p"r;ions of society who
'nhalc tn" greatest quantities Of those pei
<"nonS Insects i'll the lungs and to the
stomach.
In mans waking hours. his limbs, and
muscles. ard his mind are all in action.
there may lie but little harm in inhaling'
through the mouth. if he be in healthy
nslhcrc; and mt moments Of violent ac-
ton and excitement it mav be necessary
But when he lies down at night 10 rest
from the tatigucs of the dav, and Yields
his system and all his energies to the re-
pnse of sleep: and his voli,ion and all his
powers of resistance are giving way to it,
Inrting influence, if he gradually opens
his mouth to the widest strain. he lets the
enemy i'll that chills his lungs-that racks
his hrain-that paralyzrs lis stomach-
that gives him the nigh'mare-briugs him
imps and fairies that dance before him
during the night, aud during the following
day. headache. tooihachc. Rheumatism.
dyspepsia and the gout.