The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1880-02-26
A Chemists Courage.
SOME ANECDOTES ILLUSTRATTNQa Fl sIB
HUMPHREY DAVIS DARING.


| SOME ANECDOTES ILLUSTRATING 81 SIR
HUMPHREY DAVIS DARING. fs
| The same moral and physical courage
which Davy displayed in his youth by de-
| iberately taking out bis pocket knife and
| excising part of his leg, which had been
bitten by mad dog, and cauterizing the
wound with his own hands, was exhibited
in his chemical investigations. His discov-
cry that nitrous gas, the vapor OF aqnafortis,
Is not Injurious to health resulted from ex-
periments in his own life. He obtained the
gas in state of purity, and though very
we'll aware of the danger he ran If the re-
ceived theory of its deadly power was true,
which he doubted, he resolved to inhale 1t
in its pure form. Gradually. increasing the
dose, he ultimately succeeded In breathing
four quarts Of the gas from and into silk
bag. He experienced a sense Of giddiness,
accompanied with loss of sensation and vol.
iton, state analogous to intoxication,
''attended," as he says, .'by highly pleas
urable thrilling Of chest and limbs. The
objects around became dazzling and my
hearing more acute. Toward the last ill.,
spiration the sense Of muscular power be-
came greater, and at last an irresistible
propensity to action was INDUCED in. My
gesticulations were various and violent. In ten
minutes had recovered my natural state
of mind" And what are we to say Of the
daring of the following experimental which
he was again operator and subject. He was
curious to know what effect drink would have
on person under the influence Of this gas.
He drank glass of wine.
sin about eight minutes I perceived says
he, "a sense Of fullness in the head and
throbbing of the arteries. lost the power
of speech, and was unable to stand steadily.
In an hour sank into state of insensiblli-
ty, in which remained for two hours and
half. l was awakened by severe headache
and nausea, and my bodily and mental de-
bility was excessive. In this state breath
ed five quarts OF gas for minute and half,
but it must have been impure, for it had no
effect" He then respired twelve quarts OF
oxygen for nearly four minutes, without any
material change in his sensations. The Sc
we're headache continuing, he respired
quarts of pure nitrous oxide for two and half
minutes. After the third respiration the
headache vanished. Brilliant ideas passed
through his mind. He jumped and danced
across the room; but languor and depression
succeeded, which gradually wore off towards
evening. In his treatise, "Concernfng Nj
trous Oxide,'' he records its amusing effects
on several of his friends One of them danced
about like spinning top, and got sopugna-
cious that he struck at whoever happened to
U6 near uiIus Tvs iuuuGuCe vi suCL CNOSeu
souls as Coleridge and SouGhey was by no
means brilliant. They jumped and skipped
about the room, laughing idiotically, every
CLEAN OF intelligence fading from their faces.
The experiment on himself by which Da-
Wy proved that hydrocarbonate acts as sed-
alive, was fearfully daring. twas no fool
hardy bravado that was the motive power in
him, but love of scientific investigation.
He says he was anxious to compare it's ef-
fects with those of nitrous oxide. -Embold-
ened by first experiment, from which he
felt no excessively painful results. he Intro
duced four quarts OF the gas iuto a silk bag.
After forced exhaustion of the lungs. and
the nose being accurately closed, he made
three breathings OF the hydrocarbonate. The
first produced feeling of numbness; the
second took away the power OF vision and
enfeebled the other senses; the third sent
him away In a swoon and just left him pow
er enough to throw the tube away from his
lips. After short interval he recovered
little aud was able to whisper 81 do not
think shall die.'' Placing his finger on his
wris: he found bis pulse beating with excess
sive Quickness. In about a minute he was
able to walk, but for an hour was weak and
giddy and conscious OF a painful pressure
upon the chest.