The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1868-03-12
THE BREATH

i"s W tue wits OF inc cnCst IeFhtlheui VI
effected with tubercles.
II BREATH.
Tho order of the breath of the drunk
ard furnishes the earliest indication by
which the habitual use of ardeut spirit
becomes known. This is accustomed
by the oxhalation of the alchvllc prin-
ciple from the bronchial vessals and
a%irColls of tho lungs-not tho pure
| spirit, as taken into the stomach, but
of spirit which has been absorbed, has
mingled with blood, and has been sub
Iicctod to the action of the different or
gans of the body; and not containing
any principle which contributes to the
no~urishmcnts or renovation of the sys-
TEN, is cast out with the other excro-
tions, as POISONOUS ard hur.ful. This
peculiar ordor does not arise from the
accidental or occasional use Of spirit
IL marks only the habitual dram-drin-
kcr, the you lrdulges daily in his po-
%tation; and although It's density var
les In some degree with the kind of
spirit consumed, tho habits and con
stitution of thc individual, yet it bears
gencrallG n close relation to the degree
of intemperanco.
These observations arc confined by
experiments made on living animals
by the celebrated French Psychologist
Magcndic. lie ascortaincd that dilus
ted alcohol, q solution of champion,
and some other odorous substances,
whom subjected TO the absorbing power
of 3ho veins, arc taken up by them,
and after mingIing with the blood, pass
off by the pulmonary cxhalants. Even
phosphorus injected into tho crual
vein Of a dog, he found to pass off in q
few moments from the nostrils Of the
animal in n dense vapor, which he
asccrtaincd TO be phosphoric acid
Cases have occurred, in which the
breath of the drunkard has become so
highly charged with alcohol as to ren~
der it actually iplamablc by the touch
of a taper. Ono individual n partic-
ular mentioned, who often amused his
comrades by passing his breath
through y small lubo, and setting ton
fro rs it issued from it.. 1t appears
also, that this has been the source Of
that condensation Of the body OF the
drunkard which has becndenominatod
spontaneous, many Observation-Disclosures
cases of which arc or record.
THE HEART N ITS FUNCTIONS.
1t is generally been supposed, that
the heart is less frequently affected by
intcmperanco, than most of tho other
great vial organs; but from the histo-
ry of the cases which have como under
my own observation, l am convinced
that it seldom escapes disease under
the habitual use Of ardent spirit. And
why should it, since it is thrown al
most perpctunlly into n state OF unnat-
ural oxortion, the very effect produced
by tho violent agitation of the passions,
tho influence of which upon this organ
IS found so Injurious
The following caso came under my
notice q fow winters since. A largo
athletic man, long accustomed to the
use of ardent spirit, on drinking a
glass of raw whisky, dropped instantly
dead. On carefully dIssocting tho
+ body, no adequate cause Of the sudden
cessation OF life could BE- found in any
part except tho heart. This organ
was free from blood, was hard and
firmly contracted, rs if affected by
spasms. / am convinced that many OF
those cases of sudden death which take
place with intempcrate persons, arc the
result of u spasmodic action Of the
heart, from sympathy with the stom-
ach, or some oJhor pant of tho system.
=. The use Of ardent spirit no doubt pro-
notes also tho Justification oftho valves
T oftho heart, as well as the development
Of Othor nr0onic o0nctiona