The Lansing state Republican. [volume] (Lansing, Mich.) 1855-1874, 1863-07-15
Impure AIr-carbonate Aeia.

Among the poisonous gases which latest cur
atmosphere, carbonic acid deserves special con-
sideratiOn. The principal result Of d. fc-pira-
ton and combustion, IL exists in minute quaint
ties every where, but when il acclml'a.e- 10 the
extent Of one or Two per cent. it Seriously com
prOmis e. health. have seen the last half Of all
eloquent sermon entirely lost upon the c01gre
CATION; carbonic acid had 50 accumul4ted that
il operated Ike a dose Of opium No peforation
uould arouse them. Nothing bat open xiadows
could start LIES currents. In lectures bei1r- IT,
ceums ! often have quarrel with the mauager-
about ventilation. There il even among the
most intelligent, strange Indifference o. the
subject.
The following fact graphically Illustrate the
influence OF the carb0nc acid Oh hu aal i,-.
young Freuchman, ". Deal, finding bis
hopes Of cutting figure ia the world rather d..
bious, resolved to commit suicide bat that Bee
might not leave the world without producing Il
sensation and hoarishing in the Newspaper. be
resolved to Kin himself with carbonc aid So.
shutting himself up 10 close room b. -lccec.
dei in his purpose, leaving to tine w0rll the f.l
lowing account, which was fouad near his dead
body the next morning.
:" have thought il useful IN the interest Of
science, 20 make known the effects oi charcoal
upon man. place lamp candle sad a watch
on my table, and commence the ceremony.
. Ii l. quarter past ten have LIGHTED the
stove; the charcoal burns feebly
Twenty minutes past ten The pull. Is
calm, and beats at il usual rate
Thirty minutes past ten. thick vaDor
gradually fills the room; the candle IS nearly
extinguished; / begin 10 feel a violent headache.
my eyes fill With tears; feel general sense Of
discomfort; the pulse il agitatei
Envfr
out; the lamp still burns the veins al nv tenn
pies throp as if they would burst; feel very
sleepy; | suffer horribly in the stomach. nv
pulse is at eighty.
FIFTY minutes past ten. avn almost sdaed;
strange Ideas assail me II can scarcely
breathe-I shall not 20 far - There are
symptoms Of madness
Eleven O'Clock. Il can scarcely write
Myksight is troubled - rs lamp il going out
did not think it would be such aeor7 o. DE-.
Ten"
Here followed some quite illegibe character.
Life had ebbed The following morning h. ss.
found on the floor.
The steamer Londonderry left Lverpool for
Sligo, on Friday, December %, 1878. itb two
HUNDRED passengers, mostly emigrauta A storm
soon came on. The Captain ordered tie nls-.a
gers into the steerage cabin, which was eighteen
feet long, eleven "ide and seven hirh Ta.
matches were closed, and tarpaulin fastened
over this only entrance 10 the cabin
The poor creatures were now condemned fo
breathe the same air over aud overa1a'a. Ta-n
followed a dreadful scene. The groans %. tbe |
dying, the curses and shrieks of those rot vet in
the agOnies Of death must have been incon /
ceiVably horrible. Tde struggling mass a,
length burst open the matches, and the mate was
called to gaze at the fearful spectacle. Seventy /
two were already dead, many we're dviag. their /
bodies convulsed, the blood starting from their /
nostrils, eyes aud ears.
Ii does not appear that the CAPTAIN Designed
to suf0cate his passengers, but thar DE vas sian
ply ignorant OF the fact that air which has mass.
ed TO and fro in the lungs becomes a deadly
poison.
The victims Of the Black Hole in Calcutta and
OF the steamer Londonderry. with thousand
other instances in which immediate death ha.
resulted from carbonc acid, are terrible exam
piles in the history of human suffering; but these
cases are As nothing compared with those OF the
millions who nightly sleep inunventillated rooms.
from which they escape with life but not with
out serious injury. As a medical man. have
visited thousands OF sick persons, and have not
found one hundred of them ia pure atro>-
pierre have often returned from church ,.ri
Dusly doubling whether had not committed
I'm IN exposing myself TO its poisonous air There
are In our great cities churches costing fftv thou
sand dollars, in the construction Of which not
lity dollars were expended In providing means
or ventilation. Ten thousand for ornament buf
lot ten dollars for pure air Parlors with iur
iacs heat and a number of gas burners. leach
u which consumes as much oxygen as several
nen) are made as close as possible, and "A nsrsy
of ladies' and gentlemen spend halt the night in
hem. In 1851 ! visited a legislative hall The
legislature in session. remained half All
iour in the most impure air ever attempted 10
Breathe II the laws which emanatei from such
IN atmosphere were good, it is a remarkable !n-
lance OF the mental and moral rising above u
epraved physical Our school houses arc
ONE OF them, so vile in this respect that /
would prefer to have my son remain in utter
ignorance OF books, rather than breathe, during
TX hours OF every day, so poisonous an atmos
phere. Thesters and concert rooms are 50 foul
bat only reckless people can continue to visit
hem.