PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICA BY VAEIOUS WRITERS EDITED BY JAMES HINTON, Author of " Thoughts on Health, and some of its Conditions." IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. SECOND EDITION. HENRY S. KING & Co., 65, COENHILL; AND 12, PATEENOSTEE Row, LONDON. 1874. [All Rights Reserved^] PREFACE. IN collecting these papers for republication, most of them have been submitted to careful revision, and I believe they are all fairly on a level with the present state of knowledge. The chapter on the use of alcohol is entirely new, and will be found, I think, one of the best practical ex- positions of the subject to be met with. My own. part in the volume has been small. But I am happy to have this opportunity of again returning my thanks to its authors, all of them eminent in their profession, for the kind way in which they re- sponded to the requests for assistance in this work which were conveyed to them through me. Thinking that the recent experiments of Professor Ferrier on the functions of different parts of the brain would be interesting and instructive, I have availed myself, in an Appendix, of an account of them given by him in the recent number of the Journal of Anatomy and Physiology. JAMBS HINTOK LONDON, January, 1874. -i -f o-f <> * CONTENTS OF THE FIEST VOLUME. CHAPTER I. PAGE THE BRAIN AND ITS SERVANTS 1 CHAPTER II. THE FACULTY OF HEARING 33 CHAPTER III. THE EYE AND SIGHT 61 CHAPTER IV. THE SENSE OF SMELL 102 CHAPTER V. THE SENSE OF TASTE 127 CHAPTER VI. DIGESTION 151 viii CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII. PAGE THE SKIS. CORPULENCE 1"? CHAPTER VIII. THE BATH. THE SENSE OP TOUCH 207 CHAPTER IX. NOTES ON PAIN 225 CHAPTER X. RESPIRATION 244 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. I. THE BRAIN AND ITS SERVANTS. IN the course of this volume we shall have a great deal to say about the Nerves ; and as these are the means through which all our organs perform their part, it is perhaps, advisable, first of all, to devote a little space to them, and to the great centre of them all, the Brain. The likeness of the brain and nerves to a telegraph, with its lines of wire, and the central office to which all lead and from which all depart, has been often noticed; and it has been supposed by some persons that these organs are really a kind of electric machine, in which currents are generated, and supplied wher- ever they are needed. But- it is not truly so. The living body, indeed, like all things in which active changes are going on, is constantly pervaded by elec- tricity ; and in some animals (as the torpedo, or the electric eel) electricity is specially generated, in pecu- liar organs, to serve as the creature's offensive and VOL. I. B 2 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. defensive weapon. In these animals there are large nerves which serve to bring the electric organs into action at the right moment. But these organs are quite separate from and unlike the brain, and the cur- rents which circulate in the nerves are of a more delicate and subtle kind. They are such as are gene- rated in living beings alone, and can traverse no other substances than the nerves. But still they are so much like electricity that we can best understand them by comparing the nerves with electric wires, and the living actions which pro- duce nervous power with the means which set electric and galvanic currents in motion. And, first, the nerves are like electric wires in this, that impulses travel along them without any permanent change in themselves. In each case, there seems to be a sort of thrill passing from one end to the other, which may be best conceived by being likened to a motion transmitted along a row of balls lying in contact with one another. If the first of the series be sharply and yet gently struck, it passes on the impulse, without changing its own place, to the next, and that to the following one, and so on, until the last is reached, and it alone moves from its position. So, probably, it is with the minute particles which make up a wire when electricity passes along it ; and somewhat in the same way, we THE BRAIN AND ITS SERVANTS. 3 may best conceive, it is with the minute particles which form the active portion of a nerve. And again, as the impulse which starts a galvanic current is derived from chemical changes between an acid and a metal, from the union of the minute particles of these with one another, so the force which starts a thrill along a nerve comes, in all probability, from unions of minute particles in the brain, or around the other terminations of the nerves in the ear, the eye, the skin. And if we are content (as in respect to subjects such as these we are obliged to be content at present, though we daily strive to make our knowledge more com- plete and truthful) with general thoughts, and keep always in mind how very imperfect all such views must be, it is not difficult to understand how the Creator has endowed us with so wonderful and perfect an instrument for perceiving and for acting, as our nervous system is. For all over the living body minute particles are every moment changing their place, uniting with one another, and disuniting. There is no life without such constant interaction of the elements of which the body consists. And thus in these miruite actions we may well understand there is an ever-ready source' cf nerve-power. The nerves take up and turn to account, as it were, power that 4 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. would otherwise be wasted. The wonder is, that amid the innumerable multitude of actions within and in- fluences without, so perfect an order is maintained that there is no excess and no lack on any hand, and no confusion ; every organ of sense making its own distinct report, and every muscle receiving its own exact supply. It is no wonder that the organs destined to be the channels and centres of this incessant and widely interwoven activity should be (as we shall see they are) highly complicated, and elaborately interconnected, each part being placed in due sub- ordination to the whole. Nor is it any wonder that an organization so delicately subtle, so open to impression, and yet needing an adjustment so exact, should be so often liable to disorder, especially if the laws of its healthy working are unknown or disre- garded. One of the most striking points about the nervous system is that it has two quite distinct and even opposite parts to play. On the one hand, it is a stimulator ; it excites to their proper actions all the organs; on the other, it is a controller of action, and perpetually restrains activities that would otherwise come into play. Of this we have plenty of evidence in our own will, which operates through the nerves. THE BRAIN AND ITS SERVANTS. 5 Not very much, less often do we exert it to repress an action which tends to its own performance, than to perform one which requires our effort. How hard it often is to refrain from laughter, or from tears ! how impossible entirely to repress the manifestations of our feelings ! We cannot but tremble when we are in fear; we cannot long stop our breath. And this twofold character pervades all the operations of the nervous system; its function everywhere is partly to excite and partly to control. For these two purposes there exist distinct sets of nerves, which, however, are but a portion of the many varieties of nerves found in the human body. There is a set of nerves, for example, which, keeps the heart beating; another set which controls and regulates its action, and these, when too violently excited, bring it to a sudden stand. But one of the chief ways in which this control of activity through the nerves is exercised, is by means of a special set of nerves distributed to the blood- vessels in every part of the body, and through which, the vessels are made to contract or expand, so increas- ing or reducing the power of any organ. All the operations of the body are carried on under control ; its activity is a regulated activity. Hence its perfect- ness its harmony with nature. And the lesson is not hard to read ; that is truly natural which is strictly 6 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. regulated. If we would recognise in the moral world the features of life, we must find it in passions spon- taneously bending to the Creator's laws. So, too, in the brain itself: its activities are balanced one against the other, and its harmonious action comes out of the operation of each in its turn under the regulating influence of a power operating in the con- trary direction. But of this we may speak more by- and-by. A general outline of the nervous system is presented in Fig. 1. It consists of three great divisions the brain, the spinal cord, and the nerves. Of these the brain is the instrument by which we feel and think, and put into action the dictates of our will. The spinal cord stands, as it were, between the brain and the rest of the body ; through it most of the actions we perform unconsciously are done; and be- sides this, it receives impressions and transmits them to the brain on the one hand, and on the other, in its influence on the body, the brain acts through it. The nerves connect these central parts, the brain and cord, with all the other organs. We shall speak first of the nerves. Fig. 2 represents two nerves uniting with one another as they continually do. It will be seen that each nerve consists of a bundle of fibres. These are in the larger THE BRAIN AND ITS SERVANTS. 7 trunks extremely numerous, about 3000 occupying an inch. Each of these fibres consists of three parts FIG. 1. DIAGRAM OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. an outer covering, a roll of a white material, and a small central darker substance. We shall have a good idea of them if we liken them, on a small scale, to a very 8 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL long wax taper rolled up in a piece of linen. The linen will be the external sheath, which, is firm and strong, and serves as a protection ; the wax will answer to the white material, and the wick may stand for the central substance. But this is not strong and fibrous : it is very fine and soft, and through it alone, we believe, the nervous currents pass. It seems, indeed, highly pro- bable that this central substance answers strictly to FIG. 2. the metallic wire in the electric cable, and that the white material, which does not reach, to the extreme end of the nerve, answers the purpose of insulating the nervous current, being like the gutta-percha coating. If it be so, this is another striking instance of man's unconscious imitation of Nature. When we speak of a nerve, we mean a bundle of the nervous fibres described above, enclosed in a common sheath of mem- brane. THE BRAIN AND ITS SERVANTS. 9 Among these wires of our nervous telegraph, one set carry the messages inward to the spinal cord, and a different set convey outward the response. The first are the nerves of sensation, and pass chiefly to the skin; the latter the nerves of motion, and are given to the muscles. Besides these, there are ano- ther set of nerves, a little different in their form, FIG. 3. a. NERVE CELLS AND FIBRES. a. A blood-vessel. which go to the small vessels, as before said, to make them contract or expand, in conformity with the con- dition of the nervous system. We see their action in the blush of modesty or the paleness of fear. In all the organs of sense, these fibres end in special structures, adapted to receive each peculiar impression, io PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. as of sound, or light, or taste ; in the muscles the inmost axis subdivides into still minuter twigs, which spread themselves over all the fibres, and thus bring every por- tion under the influence of the controlling will. At the centre, the nerves end in a different way. Here each nerve-fibre is connected with a peculiar rounded body termed a cell. These cells are exhibited in Figs. 3 and 4. Fig. 3 shows a small group of nerve-cells, with the FIG. 4. A NEETE-CELL WITH TWO FIBRES. nerve-fibres intermingled ; and Fig. 4 represents a single cell with two nerve-fibres issuing from it ; or, rather, as one must believe, with one issuing from it, one passing into it. Of the use of these cells something is known. The impression received through a nerve filament, say from the eye or ear, is in the cell " reflected," as it is said, into another nerve-fibre which conveys an influence to a muscle ; as, for example, to the muscle which contracts the pupil, or adjusts the tension of the membrane of the THE BRAIN AND ITS SERVANTS. u drum. This is the simplest form of nervous action, and in it the mind has no part. Thus are performed the actions which we do involuntarily, as breathing ; or quite unconsciously, as winking. Thus, the heart beats and the stomach secretes the digestive fluid. These little cells are small storehouses of nervous force, which the impulses produced in the nerve-fibres by light, or sound, FIG. 5. SECTION OF THE SPINAL COED. a. 6. Nerves, c. Ganglion of cells on the posterior root, which is the nerve of sensation, d. Origin of the motor root. e. Origin of the sensi- tive root. The dark part in the centre represents the cells of the cord. or touch, set free, and cause to flow along the nerve- fibres to any muscle with which the cell is connected. Now the spinal cord (see Fig. 1) is made up of cells of this kind, with bundles of fibres round them, which fibres connect the cells and the nerves to each other, and all with the brain. Fig. 5 is a section of the cord, show- 12 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. ing how the nerves come to it and pass off from it. Through the branch with the swelling on it (which is a small cluster of nerve-cells) the impressions are trans- mitted to the cells in the cord, and through the other branch the impulses pass outwards to the muscles. These two branches are called the roots of the nerve ; they are soon united indistinguishably together, and separate again only at the other end of the nerve, where one set of fibres goes to the muscles, the other to the part that feels: the greatest number, by far, of all these fibres goes to the skin. It is through the spinal cord, thus constructed, that almost all our involuntary actions are carried on. By the same means it is that insects will act, after their heads are removed, precisely as if they still felt and designed. Such actions are carried on by the nervous system, by virtue of its own structure and powers, with no mind in them. And it is well it is so. If our will were necessary to their performance, they would often be sadly neglected. How long should we keep on breath- ing if it required a special effort of ours for every breath ? How long would it be before our heart stopped beating, if each pulse waited for our will to start it ? At the very least we could never sleep ; or, even if we could live on such conditions, what would our life be worth, consumed as it would be in the mere process of existing ? Nothing THE BRAIN AND ITS SERVANTS. 13 in our whole structure is more wonderful or more beau- tiful than this office of the spinal cord, whereby all the constant processes of life are withdrawn from our con- cern, and carried on without our thought. Thus the nobler part of us is set free to attend to worthy objects, and the truly human life is erected, as on a pedestal, upon the animal life which serves it, and which should ever be held as its servant. Of this higher life of thought and feeling the brain is the instrument. But though the office is different, the principle on which it is carried out is the same, and the same structures are made use of. Cells and fibres con- stitute the spinal cord ; precisely similar cells and fibres constitute the brain. By impulses received from with- out through the fibres, and actions thus evoked in the various 'groups of cells, the lower functions of the body are maintained ; by similar impulses, evoking corres- ponding actions in the brain-cells, the functions of the intellectual and moral life, so far as they depend upon a material instrument, are carried on. But as we advance to the brain, the arrangement of cell and fibre becomes more complex, though in principle it is the same. Fig. 6 very roughly represents its struc- ture. Tracing it upward from the spinal cord, the fibres of the latter are seen to expand in all directions, and among them various groups of cells are situated, while 14 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. they are covered in by a layer of similar cells. This layer is folded up into " convolutions/' so that though, if spread out, it would cover a surface of many feet, it is packed conveniently within the skull. If I might take a very homely illustration, I would suppose it was desired to spread as large a layer of sugar as 'possible FIG. 6. DIAGRAM OF A VERTICAL SECTION OF THE BKAIN. a. Centre for smell, b. Centre for motion, c. Centre for sensation. d. Centre for sight. /. The little brain, or cerebellum. The black indented line represents the cells of the convolutions. upon a cake. The way to do it would be to indent the surface of the cake into deep close folds, and to arrange these in waving forms. These would be an image of the "convolutions" of the brain. And we cannot wonder that they are so extensive, when we consider that it is through the cells which cover them that the THE BRAIN AND ITS SERVANTS. 15 mind acts. The convolutions of the brain are the por- tion of the body through which the mental life, with all its immense variety of powers, is manifested. And, speaking in general terms, it is found that the extent of the mental faculties is in proportion to the number and variety of these convolutions. Here, then, we arrive at the very crown and summit of the human body that for which all other parts exist. Not that the soul dwells here, or depends in any way upon this, more than on any other portion of the material frame that it controls; but it is when impressions from without reach this portion of the nervous system that they excite, not actions only, but thoughts and feelings. It is on reaching this part that mere nervous impulses awake ideas, arouse passions, start trains of reasoning, call forth exertions of the will. It seems a poor and simple mechanism for so great a result, and doubtless, till we have penetrated its secret, we cannot but think it so. Yet it is not quite so simple as it might appear. This chief of all the ner- vous centres is an expanse of small grey-coloured cells ; altogether it is but about the tenth of an inch in thickness ; yet, on minute examination, it has been found to consist of at least seven distinct layers ; and though no decided difference between its various parts has been detected, there is proof that different portions 16 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. of it serve different offices. Perhaps the best-established distinction of this kind is the dependence of speech upon a convolution situated in the region of the left temple. But upon points of this kind our knowledge, though very limited as yet, is growing fast. It may be as well here to say, that the groups of nerve-cells are called ganglia (from ganglion, a knot) and that the cells are grey, while the nerves are white. As I have said, the fibres of the spinal cord, as we trace them upwards into the brain, expand outwards and end in the convolutions, thus connecting every part of the body with the mind. But this connection is not direct and simple. Between the cord and the convolu- tions there are interposed two other large ganglia (see Figs. 6 and 7), which are connected, the lower with the nerves of sensation, and the higher with those of motion. In the former of these the impressions sent up to the brain from all parts are first received, and probably the multitude of them reduced into more distinct and simpler form, before they are transmitted onward. To the supe- rior ganglion the impulses to motion arising from the will are first transmitted, probably as a simple or single mandate ; and in the ganglion this mandate is distri- buted, we may perhaps say, to the various nerve-fibres, which set in operation the many muscles which must co- operate for every action. Besides thus ministering to THE BRAIN AND ITS SERVANTS. 17 the operations of tlie mind, these ganglia also possess a certain power of action in themselves. They also "reflect" impulses to the muscles or to the vessels, or the secreting glands, as well as pass them up- wards to affect the mind. And they may do one or other of these in varying proportion, as the mind is more or less intent upon surrounding objects. Pro- bably in "attending" to anything, what we chiefly do, so far as the brain is concerned, is to maintain the connection between the convolutions and these inferior groups of cells in a very free and active state ; so that every impression, not only evokes an uncon- scious nervous response, but excites distinct ideas. The very quietness of a person who is earnestly at- tending may be taken as a proof of this. He exercises an active control over the unconscious reactions which would otherwise ensue in response to the impressions from without, which are affecting him on every side. This control is one of the actions which we perform through the convolutions. The part of which we have been speaking is called the cerebrum; it is the brain properly so called, and consists of two hemispheres, which are shown in Fig. 7 (see also Fig. 1). These two hemispheres are inti- mately connected with one another by several sets of fibres, which pass in various directions from one VOL. i. c i8 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. to the other. What precise relations they bear to each other, and how far they are distinct in their FIG. 7. THE COURSE OF THE NERVE FIBRES IN THE BRAIN. a. The hemispheres. 5. The central ganglia of sensation and motion, c. The cerebellum, or little brain, d. The crossing of the fibres in the spinal cord. e. The nerve of smell. /. The nerve of sight. (This figure shows the inferior surface of the brain, part of which is cut away.) use, is not yet fully known. But there is evidence that they have to some extent separate offices. The THE BRAIN AND ITS SERVANTS. 19 most striking instance as yet known of this is the fact, only recently discovered, that disease of a certain part of the left side destroys the power of speech, which disease of the right side has not been observed to do. Each half of the brain is connected by its nerves with the opposite side of the body; the fibres crossing in the spinal cord, as seen in Fig. 7. Besides this brain proper, or cerebrum, there is also contained within the skull a lesser brain, or cerebellum (Fig. 6, /; Fig. 7, c). This lies at the posterior and inferior part of the cerebrum, and is connected in the same way with the- fibres of the spinal cord, and the two brains are intimately connected together. In structure the cerebellum corresponds very closely to the cerebrum. It also contains a group of cells in the centre, and is covered with a layer of cells ex- ternally, also arranged in convolutions ; but these are very closely arranged, so as to represent on section an appearance like a tree (hence fancifully called the Arbor Vitce, or "Tree of Life:" see Fig. 7, c). So far as is yet known, the office of this lesser brain is to regulate and harmonise the movements of the muscles. As the brain-fibres spread out into the hemispheres of the great and little brain, they diverge from each other towards either side, and are again folded over upon themselves, so as to leave in the centre a series 20 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. of small cavities, which are called the "ventricles of the brain." Through these spaces blood-vessels pass in and out, and these internal cavities, as well as a nar- row space around the brain and cord, are filled with a watery fluid, which gives these organs the most equal and gentle support in all directions, and does very much to guard them from shocks and jars. This watery fluid is included in a firm bag of membrane folded all around the brain, and this bag is lined on the inside by a very delicate membrane full of blood- vessels, which dips down between all the convolu- tions, and feeds all the cells with a rich supply of blood. Outside of it, and binding it to the skull, there is another membrane, tough and strong. We have thus given a very brief outline of the ner- vous system as it exists in man, and have seen that it consists of several distinct systems united into one. We may shortly sum it up by imagining and the imagination strictly represents the truth that there are in ourselves four distinct kinds of lives. First, there is a life which has to do with the mere growth and support of the bodily structure which digests food, and circulates blood, and removes the products of decay. This life is carried on by a set of nerves and ganglia of its own, called the sympathetic, which has its chief seat around the stomach. Secondly, there THE BRAIN AND ITS SERVANTS. 21 is a life of movement, prompted by external impres- sions alone,, without consciousness a life of reflex action, as it is called; this has its seat in the spinal cord. Thirdly, there is a life similar to the last/ but of a higher kind, such as we see manifested, for example, in the instincts of the bee; the seat of this is, probably, in the central ganglia of the brain. And, fourthly, there is the life of reason and of will, of which the convolutions are the instrument. In the three lower forms of nerve-life, we have seen, the rule of action is that of simple reflection of im- pressions, with more or less of directness or of com- bination. In the highest form the law is modified, and instead of a mere reflection of force according to the nature of the impression, processes of thought and feeling are elicited, and results are varied according to the character of the man. But though the law is modified, it is not done away, and in the highest sphere of life instances are still met with of simple reflex action. This is exhibited in the most striking and interesting way in the form of habits. As the child's powers advance with advancing age, more and more actions, which at first required thought and an effort of the will, become drawn within the sphere of the unconscious and involuntary activity. Almost every action indeed even the most compli- 22 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. cated and difficult which is habitually practised, be- comes thus more or less independent of the will, and makes less and less demand on thought. In this consists, in part, the skill of the artist or artisan (who should always be truly an artist also). His hands pass almost unconsciously over his work, which is the better done, in truth, for this unconsciousness. We may convince ourselves of this by a trivial example. How easily we tie a bow, while we are thinking all the while of something entirely different ! But let us direct our attention to the bow we are tying, and think of each step in the process, and the chances are we get puzzled, and bungle over it. It is the same in the execution of music, which would seem to require an attention so exact and unremitting. Instances have certainly occurred in which performers have lost their consciousness for a few moments, and have yet con- tinued playing in perfect time. And in those almost more wonderful performances, which yet attract no wonder because they are universal such as the func- tion of speech, the act of walking, or the maintenance of the erect position the working of the same law is seen. Our words almost form themselves; the mind is occupied exclusively with the matter. In walking, we take no thought to secure the movement of our limbs; nay, they may even take us where we would THE BRAIN AND ITS SERVANTS. 23 not. Often it has happened that a man absorbed in thought has walked, not where he meant, but where he has been used, to go. And that unceasing muscu- lar play, whereby alone the body can be kept duly poised upon the feet in standing, though it takes the infant long to acquire it, entirely escapes the conscious- ness of the adult. All these and innumerable other actions essential to our well-being, the reflex nervous system takes by degrees upon itself, and thus ensures for us (at least until decay begins) a continual ex- tension of our powers, and an ever-increasing possi- bility of concentrating them on moral and intellectual ends. And thus, again, the study of our bodily structure enforces the highest moral lessons. The enlargement of the intellectual and moral nature, as it is one of our deepest religious duties, so it is also the road to the highest physical development. That is the most perfect condition of the nervous system in which its various parts are most thoroughly united in their operation, so that it acts completely as a whole. And this is only when the powers of each part are fully brought out, the subordinate portions discharging every function within their power, and the higher freely exer- cised on its appropriate objects. For thus only is it that each portion of the complex system transmits its 24 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. full influence to the rest an influence which is of the utmost importance to each. Of the importance of the healthy influence of the lower nervous system upon the higher, we have ample evidence in the im- paired activity of mind, and the disordered and morbid state of the emotions, which accompany derangements of the digestive or circulating organs; and that the in- fluence of the higher ganglia of the brain is not less important for the inferior nervous centres is proved by the effect on all the processes of life of prolonged or violent mental disturbance. How easily ill-news de- stroys the appetite, or the mere idea of a disgusting object excites nausea ! The very thought of food in- creases the saliva and the gastric juice, while violent distress of mind will so derange the secretion of a mother's milk as to make it poisonous to her babe. We see evidence, again, of the beneficial physical influence of a due exercise of the moral and intellectual faculties, in the improvement which ensues even in the bodily conformation of a race under the influence of good mental culture continued through a few genera- tions. Not only does the contour of the skull and features become more noble, but the organs univer- sally respond to the stimulus, and the whole frame gains in elegance, delicacy, and even in comparative vigour. Nor is the cause of this benefit arising from THE BRAIN AND ITS SERVANTS. 25 high mental exercise hard to discover. All action within the body is attended with the production of force, and no action more abundantly than that of the convolutions of the brain. This force radiates from the convolutions to the nerves throughout the body, supplying them with the healthiest of all stimuli, and one which the very structure of the ner- vous system proves that they were designed to re- ceive. It cannot be withheld from them as it is by indolent or grovelling thought but to their detriment. It is no argument against this statement that over- taxing of the brain, or a life passed in sedentary study, injures the health. Rather these are confirma- tory facts ; for the first proves the influence of brain - action over the whole body, and the second, while it shows indeed that exercise of other organs besides the brain is needed, proves at the same time that brain-exercise is good. For, however much a seden- tary life of study may tend to debilitate (and, with good management, this is less than is often supposed), a sedentary life of mental indolence tends to debilitate much more. Mental indolence is bad even when combined with bodily exertion, but with bodily indo- lence as well, it is ten times worse. No constitutions are so morbid as those by which no work is done. At the same time, mental work is apt to be over- 26 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. strained, especially by those who most intensely feel its charms. One of the most frequent signs- of this, when carried to a great extreme, is a morbid desire for suicide, which perhaps is really, at bottom, an un- appeasable craving for rest. Some melancholy cases of self-destruction, which have exoited the liveliest public regret, are clearly traceable to their cause in mental overwork. It is enough to mention Hugh Miller, and the great meteorologist Admiral Fitzroy. The first indications of any such temptation should be carefully observed, and rest taken in time. But rest for an overtaxed brain is not always easy to procure, even when no external circumstances render it diffi- cult. An excited and over-stimulated mind will not rest, and to insist on resting it is often as futile as trying to go to sleep when we are not sleepy. A merely passive condition cannot at once be substituted for one of nervous restlessness. The true rest for a wearied brain is change to some unexciting yet useful occupation, with as much of the nature of service in it as possible, that the thoughts may be taken from ourselves ; and the nearer it approaches to manual labour the better. Often a strong effort and a great sacrifice are required to achieve the change, but they are well rewarded. But, of course, in such cases medical advice should be taken. THE BRAIN AND ITS SERVANTS. 27 One caution, in respect to mental exertion, it is well to remember and that is, that it cannot be safely carried on, in any very great degree, at the same time with very severe bodily exertion. At least this is true of many persons, if not of all. The double tax upon the system is too great. And this should be remembered in respect to the condition of the labouring people. It is a doubly cruel wrong to inflict upon them an overtask; it condemns their minds, their hearts, to loss. But much less injury to health is done by over- exertion of the nervous system in any legitimate oc- cupation, than by the waste of nerve-power in the form of worry and useless vexation. All feelings of this kind consume force, and in addition propagate a deteriorating influence wherever a nerve-fibre goes. But here Physiology can but proclaim the want : it is Eeligion must supply the remedy. Contentment must be learnt from other pages than those which prove to us that the indulgence of vain desire is hurtful to our bodies. Yet even this lesson may not be in vain if it adds to our assurance that He who has thus made us incapable of too great a weight of care, makes no vain promise when He bids us cast our care on Him. But there are also physiological reliefs to worry. 28 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. One is a full absorption of the mind on objects of wholesome interest. There is a case on record of a gentleman affected with signs of incipient insanity after great anxiety in business, who freed himself entirely from them by resolutely studying mathe- matics. And if we cannot all be students, helping others in their troubles is a resource always at hand, and never ineffective in aiding us to forget our own. Another relief lies in an improvement of the bodily conditions, which may often be brought about by very simple means, such as a better ventilation of our rooms, or a little more exercise in the open air. One of the most important laws to remember respecting the nervous system is, that its activity is prompted and regulated by external impressions, its object being emphatically to bring us into relation with the ex- ternal world. Its health accordingly demands that these impressions should be transmitted to it in due abundance and of the right kind; and two of the chief sources from which they arise are the skin and the lungs. Hence, besides the primary necessity of fresh air to breathe, and pure water to wash in, for the needful purification of the blood, these have another use, only second in importance to the first that of feeding, by the influx of pleasurable sensations, the very life of the brain. Hence the immediate exhila- THE BRAIN AND ITS SERVANTS. 29 ration felt on drawing a deep breath of purer air, and the keen sense of enjoyment which follows a bath. It is not long before the blood, and through it the whole body, feels the influence of these bene- ficial agents; but the brain, through its quicker messengers,, responds at once. It is in all probability chiefly on a healthful supply of impressions through the skin and lungs that the pleasurable condition which we call a good " tone " consists. By these the brain is kept, as it were, girt up, and the man is possessed with a delicious half- consciousness of latent power. The very opposite condition to this is that most wretched one in which every organ of the body seems to send to the brain its own special sensation of dis- tress, and life becomes little else than a morbid feeling of the body. Sometimes this kind of suffering depends on deep-seated disease, and requires, even if it does not baffle, the utmost skill of the physician ; but at others it is greatly the result of an unwise direction of the thoughts, and can be greatly amended by a resolute effort to divert them into more natural channels. The fact is, that thought directed to our own bodily organs is a violation of one of the main laws of our nervous system, which provides that all the vital pro- cesses shall be carried on by an unconscious me- 30 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. chanism. We cannot bring the brain to bear upon those parts of our bodily life which are committed to the inferior portions of the nervous system, without deranging brain and body alike. The nervous power thus sent in excess to organs already amply supplied,, acts as a disturbing agent upon them; while, at the same time, abnormal channels, as it were, are opened from the lower ganglia to the convolutions, through which useless impressions, all of them painful, gain access to our consciousness. It is most important to avoid anything like a concentration of our thoughts upon any of the vital processes. It is scarcely necessary to refer again to the in- fluence which the emotions exert over the body, of which we are conscious every hour, alike in love or anger, hope or fear. Yet it may not be amiss to remark that the morally good emotions are more healthful than the contrary ones. Selfishness, cruelty, jealousy, rage, are slow poisons to the blood ; all that produce happiness are cordials. But it did not need the advance of modern science to teach us how "a, cheerful countenance doeth good like a medicine." But one thing we have come to understand better in modern times, and that is, why too stern a control of the expression of emotion preys upon health ; why con- cealment acts especially the part of the worm in the bud. THE BRAIN AND ITS SERVANTS. 31 All emotions are attended with changes in the convolu- tions of the brain, and these changes generate a force which must operate in some way. The natural actions by which the passions express themselves are the channels provided by nature for this force, which thus contri- butes to the grace and dignity and joy of life ; or at least provides signals of danger. But there is risk alike in the too free indulgence of these natural ex- pressions, and in their absolute repression ; the former tends to give passion too great a mastery over us, the latter forces the power which would thus innocently expend itself into hurtful channels. Thrown back ab- solutely upon the internal organs, the force which emotion generates deranges the operation of the other nervous centres, and may be the starting-point of lung disease. On similar grounds exercise is found a remedy for many forms of nerve distress. The over- excited brain is relieved by muscular exertions which tend to draw off its force. But to attempt to point out all the relations which the nervous system bears to the other bodily powers would be an endless task. They intermingle at all points. It is happy for us that amid so much evidence of the subjection of the mind to the demands of its material servant, we can point to so much evidence of its freedom. The cases are not few in which the 32 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. soul has soared in the highest regions while the body has been sinking under the most dire disease. Much of man's noblest work has been done with fainting hands, and amid pangs of agony; and, thank God, much more will be. II. THE FACULTY OF HEARING. How low down in the animal creation the sense of hearing extends, it is not possible positively to say. It seems probable, however, that some at least of the insect tribe possess it. But it is first in animals like the lobster that an ear, though of the simplest construction, can be distinctly shown to exist. By careful looking, this ear may be found at the upper part of the second pair of feelers, in the lobster or the crab, and it con- sists of a very small bag, filled with a watery fluid, and covered in externally by a strong membrane. On the internal surface of this bag a nerve spreads itself out, which nerve carries the effect of the motions of the fluid to the brain such brain as the creature has. A nerve and a little bag of water, accessible to the vibrations of the air, constitute an ear; and however complicated the ear may become in the higher animals and ourselves, as we shall see that it does, it always retains this character : it is, at the bottom, a bag of watery fluid and a nerve. The next step towards making the ear more per- VOL. I. D 34 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. feet is one that might well seem to be the 'way to destroy it altogether : it is putting stones into it; and these stones once put in are never again left out. They are present, though in the form of a very fine powder, in the innermost part of our own ears. But they are not always a fine powder; sometimes they are large bony masses, especi- ally in the less perfect ears, such as those of fishes. The ear-stones (otoliths) may be easily found in a cod's head, lying a short distance behind the eye and within the skull ; they are dense white bodies, often nearly an inch long, of a flattened oval form, and grooved upon their surface. Their object is to make the vibra- tions of the fluid contained in the bag more powerful. If we fill a bladder with water and give it a gentle tap we may feel a tremulous motion run to and fro within it. But if we put into it a few marbles, and then tap it, these will give a much more distinct sensation. But by examining a cod's or salmon's head (which may be cooked), not only may the ear-stones be discovered, but also the ear-bag. And it will be noticed to have a very remarkable form. It is no longer, as in the lobster, a mere roundish bladder ; at first sight it might almost be said to resemble a large white spider. It has a body and limbs, but the limbs are peculiar. Fig. 1 will explain its form. From the central sac, which THE FACULTY OF HEARING. 35 consists of two portions, there pass off three tubes, which return to the sac again, near the point from which they start. At one end each tube has an en- largement; it seems to swell out into a bulb, and here as well as in the central sac the nerve is distributed. Now because these tubes pass from the sac and return FIG. 1. EAB OF THE SALMON. a. Membranous sac in which the nerve is spread out. 6. 6. 6. Semicir- cular canals, c. c. c. Enlargements at the commencement of the canals, in which the nerve is also spread out. Above are the ear-stones con- tained in the sac of the Salmon's ear. to it again, the sac is called the " vestibule " or common hall; and the tubes are called the semi-circular canals (though they are not exactly semi-circular) ; and this with another superadded part continues to be the form of the nervous portion of the ear in all animals and in ourselves. The superadded part is like a shell (see Fig. 2 g; and Fig. 4). It consists, like a common snail- 36 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. shell, of a tube winding around a central axis, and growing larger as it winds. The reason for this form we shall see hereafter. Birds and mammals and man possess it, though birds have it in a less perfect form. In them it is a curved tube something like a small boat, and not spirally arranged. Because, however, it is for the most part in the form of a spiral shell, it is called " the cochlea." The sac, the three tubes, the spiral canal, then, make up the nervous part of the ear vestibule, semi-circular canals, and cochlea. A wonderful structure, undoubt- edly; and so the anatomists who first discovered it thought ; for they called it the labyrinth. We will speak more of it by-and-by; for the present we will return to our codfish. Though he, in common with the rest of his kind, hears very well, there is no external sign of his having any ear at all. The sac and its canals, with the audi- tory nerve expanded within them, constitute his whole organ of hearing, and they simply lie in contact with the inner surface of the skull. There is no membrane to receive vibrations from without, and pass them onwards. The reason of this is that water transmits vibrations so powerfully much more powerfully than air to solid bodies, that the bones of the fish's head suffice to convey sounds to the nerve. Except the THE FACULTY OF HEARING. 37 whale, and the other water-inhabiting mammals (which have ears like their air-breathing fellows, though some- what modified), animals which live habitually in water hear through the bones of the skull ; and their ear con- sists only of the nerve and the fluid-containing mem- branous bag on which it is spread out. But for air- breathing animals this would not suffice. The air passes on its vibrations to the skull far too feebly to serve the purposes for which hearing is needed, and accordingly an apparatus is required for conveying the vibrations of the atmosphere, which constitute sound, to the nerve appointed to receive them. This apparatus answers to the transparent parts of the eye, which afford a free passage to the light, and constitutes the second or outer portion of the ear. It has many forms in various classes of animals, but all are framed upon one plan, and it will suffice if we describe it briefly as it is met with in ourselves. The outer ear, though probably not without a certain amount of use, appears to exist in man chiefly for beauty's sake. In many animals, however, it is of great importance, being, in fact, a natural hearing- trumpet. Humboldt relates that, in South America, the troops of wild horses that traverse the country divide themselves, as regards the direction given to their ears, into three sets. Those which lead the van 38 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. direct them forward, those in the centre turn them to the side, and the hindmost set them to the rear; so that the whole troop is made aware, in the acutest way, of danger threatening from any quarter. The passage which leads inwards from the outer ear is slightly curved, and in adults is about an inch and a half in length ; in children, however, it is much shal- lower, having a depth in the infant of scarcely half an inch. It is of oval form, and about its centre is fur- nished with a broadish ring of small glands which secrete the light brown semi-solid substance known as the ear-wax. At the bottom of this passage is fixed the membrane (Fig. 2, a) commonly called the "drum of the ear;" but not correctly; a drum being, not a membrane, but a hollow space closed on one or more sides by membrane. The membrane to which the ex- ternal passage leads constitutes the outer side of a cavity hollowed in the bone (Fig. 2, I), which cavity is the drum of the ear, and contains several important parts. First, there is the membrane itself, a beautiful struc- ture, made up of fine fibres, some radiating from the central part to the circumference, others arranged in concentric rings; and it is lined on the outer side by a very fine layer of skin, and on the inner by an equally fine layer of cellular membrane. It is almost trans- parent, and though moderately strong, is little thicker THE FACULTY OF HEARING. 39 than gold-beaters' skin. Being kept gently on the stretch, it thrills to every whisper, and two small mus- FIG. 2. VIEW OF THE HU1IAN EAR, AS SEEN ON A SECTION FKOH ABOVE DOWNWARDS. a. The membrane of the drum. b. The cavity of the drum. c. The chain of bones, d. The tube leading into the throat (the Eustachian tube), e. The vestibule. /. /. Openings of two of the canals into the vestibule. The thin membranous parts in which the nerve is contained are supposed to be removed ; see Fig. 4. g. The cochlea, h. Nerve of hearing. cles keep it in the most delicate adjustment to each varying impulse with which the air comes laden. One 40 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. of these muscles draws it tighter, the other loosens it, by acting upon a chain of very small bones (Fig. 2, c), which pass, suspended as it were in mid air, and swinging with every breath, across the drum, from the membrane to the nerve. This chain of bones an- swers two purposes : First, it receives vibrations from the membrane, and conveys them to the labyrinth; and secondly, it adjusts both the membrane, and the fluid which surrounds the nerve, to the various kinds and pitches of sound by which they are affected. Besides the membrane already described, there is a second smaller membrane opposite to it; that is, on the inner wall of the drum, which closes in the spiral canal before mentioned, in which one part of the nerve is spread out. The use of this second membrane is not yet fully determined. Lastly, a tube about two inches long leads from the drum into the throat, called, from its discoverer, Eustachius, the "Eustachian tube" (Fig. 2, d}. The use of this tube is twofold. First, it supplies the drum with air, and keeps the membrane exactly balanced, and free to move, with equal air-pressure on each side ; and, secondly, it carries off any fluid which may be in the drum, and prevents it from being choked by its own moisture. It is not always open, however, but is opened during the act of swallowing, by a little THE FACULTY OF HEARING, 41 muscle which is attached to it just as it reaches the throat. Most persons can distinctly feel that this is the case, by gently closing the nose and swallowing; when a distinct sensation is felt in the ears. This sensation is due to a little air being drawn out of the ears through the open tube during swallowing ; and it lasts for a few minutes, unless the air is again restored by swallowing with the nose unclosed, which allows for the moment a free communication between the ear and the throat. We thus see a reason for the tube being closed. If it were always open, all the sounds produced in the throat would pass directly into the drum of the ear and totally confuse us. We should hear every breath, and live in a constant bewilderment of internal sounds. At the same time the closure, being but a light contact of the walls of the tube, easily allows a slight escape of air from the drum, and thus not only facilitates and regulates the oscillations of the air before the vibrating membrane, but provides a safety-valve, to a certain extent, against the injurious influence of loud sounds. The chief nse of the Eustachian tube is to allow a free interchange of air between the ear and the throat, and this is exceedingly important; and it is very im- portant also that its use in this respect should be under- stood. Persons who go down in diving-bells soon begin 42 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. to feel a great pressure in the ears, and if the depth is great, the feeling becomes extremely painful. This arises from the fact, that in the diving-bell the pressure of the air is very much increased, in order to balance the weight of the water above ; and thus it presses with great force upon the membrane of the drum, which, if the Eustachian tube has been kept closed, has only the ordinary uncompressed air on the inner side to sus- tain it. It is therefore forced inwards and put upon the stretch, and might be even broken. Many cases, indeed, have occurred of injury to the ear, producing permanent deafness, from descents in diving-bells, under- taken by persons ignorant of the way in which the ear is made ; though the simple precaution of frequent swallowing suffices to ward off all mischief. For if the Eustachian tube is thus opened, again and again, as the pressure of the outside air increases, the same compressed air that exists outside passes also into the insido of the drum, and the membrane is equally pressed upon from both sides by the air, and so is free from strain. The same precaution is necessary in ascending mountains that are lofty, for then there is the same effect of stretching produced upon the membrane, though in the opposite way. The outside air becoming less and less condensed as a greater height is gained, the ordinary air contained within the drum presses upon THE FACULTY OF HEARING. 43 the membrane, which is thus insufficiently supported on the outside, and a similar feeling of weight and stretch- ing is produced. The conjuror's trick of breaking a vase by a word rests on the same principle. The air is exhausted from within, and the thin though massive looking sides of the vase collapse by the pressure of the air outside ; and just as ever so small a hole made at the right moment in the side of the vase, would pre- vent the whole effect, so does swallowing, which makes a little hole, as it were, for the moment in the drum of the ear, prevent the in-pressing or out-pressing of the membrane. Mr. Tyndall, in his interesting book on Sound, tells us how he employed this precaution of swallowing, and with entire success, when, in one of his mountain excursions, the pressure on his ears became severely painful. Deafness during colds arises very often, though not always, from a .similar cause. For when, owing to swelling of the throat, the Eustachian tube cannot be opened by its muscle, and so the air in the drum is not renewed, the air that is contained in it soon diminishes, and the outer air presses the membrane in, so that it cannot vibrate as it should. This is what has been sometimes called " throat-deafness." The two little muscles that stretch and relax the membrane of the drum are shown in Fig. 3, which 44 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE, represents a horizontal section of the ear. Each of them passes through a little pulley of bone, and that which relaxes the membrane is shut up in bone alto- gether except its tendon. One moves the bone that FIG. 3. MrSCLES OF THE DRUM. a. The meatus. 6. The membrane of the drum. c. The bone attached to the membrane (called from its form the malleus or "ham- mer"), d. The bone which is in contact with the labyrinth (called the stapes, or " stirrup"). The bone which lies between these (see Fig. 2) is omitted; it is called the incus or " anvil." e. The muscle which stretches the membrane ; its tendon passes round a little hook of bone, and then crosses the drum to be attached to the malleus. /. The muscle which relaxes the membrane (the bone being cut away to show it). It is attached to the stapes, which it turns slightly on its axis and draws outwards, g.g. The two membranous sacs which makeup the vestibule, and which are on the same plan as in the salmon (see Fig. 1). h. The cochlea, i. The plate which winds around the central axis of the "cochlea, and on which the nerve is spread out. This plate divides at its outer part into two layers, forming another very minute canal, ft. The nerve, which is seen divided into its three branches. is attached to the membrane, drawing it inwards when it contracts ; the other moves the bone which touches the fluid that surrounds the nerve, drawing it outwards, THE FACULTY OF HEARING. 45 and letting the membrane fall back again. It will be noticed that the membrane is not placed straight at the bottom of the passage, but slants inwards, and is besides drawn a little inwards at the centre, through being attached to a small rod of bone, about a third of an inch long, which keeps it in its position. (See a, Fig. 2.) This little rod is part of the movable chain of bones, and upon it the muscle which stretches the membrane acts. The membrane is held slightly on the stretch by a small firm band which passes with the tendon of this muscle across the drum. Thus it is kept in tune for ordinary sounds, without needing a constant action of the muscle. We may now leave the outer part of the ear, designed for conducting sound to the nerve, and turn again, for a minute, to the labyrinth in which the nerve comes out to meet the sound. (See Fig. 4.) The central sac or vestibule, and the three canals with their ex- pansions, we have already described. Besides the fine powder these parts contain, which is seen under the microscope to consist of little oval crystals scattered among the minute fibres of the nerve, they are pro- vided also in some cases, with a number of delicate hairs, by means of which the motions of the small crystals are no doubt rendered still more sensible. All these parts are hollowed in the solid bone the 46 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. hardest bone in the body ; it is called by anatomists the rockbone.* The delicate membrane in which the nerve is expanded lies in smooth rocky channels, floating in a limpid fluid, which at once surrounds and fills it. FIG. 4. THE LABYRINTH. a. Nerve passing to the cochlea, b. Nerve passing to the vestibule. c. The bone surrounding the vestibule and the semicircular canals, d. The sac of the vestibule, e. The membranous canals. /. /. The enlargements on the canals, in which, and in the vestibule, the nerve is expanded. This is separated from the drum by a thin wall of bone, and in this wall the chain of small bones that passes across the drum ends. The chain terminates in a little oval plate, moving lightly to and fro, like a minute * The " petrous " portion of the temple bone. The -word is the same as that from -which the Apostle Peter the Eock received his name. THE FACULTY OF HEARING. 47 piston in a very shallow cylinder. (See Fig. 3, d.) If this little piston will not move (which again may be a result of " colds "), there is another cause of deafness. One word we must still devote to the second part of the labyrinth the shell-like spiral canal (or cochlea) Fig. 4. This, too, is hollowed in the bone, and its very form tells the story of its use. For as the canal, from being exceedingly minute, becomes larger and larger,, it gives space for the arrangement of a series of little vibratile chords or fibres, of gradually increasing length (such as the wires of a pianoforte may roughly represent) . These little fibres respond, each of them, to a certain pitch of sound, and are connected each with its own nervous twig. And as in the two turns and a half which the cochlea makes, there are many thousands of these vibratile fibres, ample provision is made for all the immense variety of notes and modulations which our ears are called on to receive. By means of the sac and the canals we are made conscious of mere noises, such as the tick of a watch or the rumbling of a waggon ; by means of the cochlea we appreciate music and under- stand the voice.* * This is the view of the cochlea which Helmholtz has done so much to render probable. It is supported, not only by the minute anatomy of the organ, but by many curious peculiarities of hearing. There are per- sons living who can carry on conversation without much difficulty, but 48 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. Thus, according to the number of the fibres in the cochlea, and the pitch to which, we may say, they are timed, will be the number and the pitch of the different sounds which we can distinguish; and this differs in different persons, especially in respect to the higher notes. There are many persons who hear well enough, yet who never heard the high shrill note of the cricket. And when a sound is made to rise gradually higher and higher, different persons cease to hear it at different times. This is but a poor and partial account of a wonderful organ, of which those who know most have still very much indeed to learn. There is much in it to excite our wonder; but, above all, we cannot but stand in amaze- ment before the question : How is it that the motion of the air, the vibration of the membrane, the trembling of the fluid, should impress us with the feeling of a sound ; should hold us rapt as music does, or thrill us with ecstasy in the tones of a voice we love ? That is the great mystery of all the senses. We cannot penetrate it yet; but we can feel, and ought to feel, how won- derful it makes the world. That which seems mere motion in the ear, and in the nerve, turns into joy or who cannot hear sounds of a high pitch, not even a railway whistle ; and others who can hear a watch tick well, but can scarcely hear music or spoken words. 7 HE FACULTY OF HEARING. 49 Sorrow in the soul : it is the source and instrument of aspiration, the vehicle of prayer. If it is all this to us, what must it be to God, who made it, and knows it perfectly ? All the structures that have been described are means used to bring sound from the outer air to our brains, in order that we may hear. Every condition is fulfilled ; every step fully prepared for. Nothing is slurred over, nothing omitted, or half done. And it is so all through the world. There is no slovenliness in Nature's work ; no grasping at quick ends, and grudging of the means ; for every result the full equivalent is given. This is God's choice; the mode He takes of working. And he who tries or wishes to do otherwise, to take short cuts, or get results without full work performed, thinks himself wiser than his Maker. There are several things very commonly done which are extremely injurious to the ear, and ought to be carefully avoided. Those who have followed the pre- vious description will easily understand the reason. And first, children's ears ought never to be boxed. We have seen that the passage of the ear is closed by a thin membrane, especially adapted to be influenced by every impulse of the air, and with nothing but the air to support it internally. What, then, can be more likely to injure this membrane than a sudden and VOL. I. K 50 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. forcible compression of the air in front of it ? If any one designed to break or overstretch the membrane, he could scarcely devise a more effective means than to bring the hand suddenly and forcibly down upoi the passage of the ear, thus driving the air violent!} before it, with no possibility for its escape but by the membrane giving way. And far too often it does give way, especially if, from any previous disease, it has been weakened. Many children are made deaf by boxes on the ear in this way. Nor is this the only way in which injury follows : if there is one thing which does the nerve of hearing more harm than almost any other, it is a sudden jar or shock. Children and grown persons alike may be entirely deafened by falls or heavy blows upon the head. And boxing the ears produces a similar effect, though more slowly and in less degree. It tends to dull the sensibility of the nerve, even if it does not hurt the membrane. I knew a pitiful case, once, of a poor youth who died from a disease of the ear. He had had a dis- charge from it since he was a child. Of course his hearing had been dull; and what had happened was that his father had often boxed his ear for inattention ! Most likely that boxing on the ear, diseased as it was, had much to do with his dying. And this brings me to the second point. Children THE FACULTY OF HEARING. 51 should never be blamed for being inattentive, until it has been found out whether they are not a little deaf. This is easily done by placing them at a few yards' distance, and trying whether they can under- stand what is said to them in a rather low tone of voice. Each ear should be tried, while the other is stopped by the finger. I do not say that children are never guilty of inattention, especially to that which they do not particularly wish to hear ; but I do say that very many children are blamed and punished for inattention when they really do not hear. And there is nothing at once more cruel and more hurtful to the character of children than to be found fault with for what is really their misfortune. Three things should be remembered here : 1. That slight degrees of deafness, often lasting only for a time, are very common among children, especially during or after colds. 2. That a slight deaf- ness, which does not prevent a person from hearing when he is expecting to be spoken to, will make him very dull to what he is not expecting : and 3. That there is a kind of deafness in which a person can hear pretty well while listening, but is really very hard of hearing when not Listening. The chief avoidable cause of deafness is catching cold, and whatever keeps us from colds helps us to preserve our hearing. We should do, therefore, those things 52 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. that help to keep colds away: of which the first is taking plenty of fresh air; the second using enough, but not too much, cold water all over us, taking especial care to rub ourselves thoroughly dry, and never to let it chill us; and the third is to avoid draughts and wet, especially sitting in wet clothes, or being in close or very heated rooms. But there are some kinds of colds especially hurtful to the ear. One is sitting with the ear exposed to a side wind, as too many people do now on the roofs of omnibuses, and so on. We should always face the wind ; then, if we are not chilled, it is hard to have too much of it. Another hurtful thing is letting rain or sleet drive into the ear, against which, if it were not that people do sometimes suffer from this cause, it would seem as if it could hardly be necessary to caution them. Another source of danger to the ear, however, arises from the very precautions which are sometimes taken against those last mentioned. Nothing is more natural than to protect the ear against cold by covering it with a piece of cotton wool ; and this is most useful if it is done only on occasions of special exposure, as when a person is compelled to encounter a driving storm, or v has to receive on one side of the head the force of a cutting wind. But it is astonishing in how many cases the cotton wool thus used, instead of being removed THE FACULTY OF HEARING, 53 from the ear when the need for it has passed, is pushed down into the passage, and remains there, forming itself an obstruction to hearing, and becoming the cause of other mischiefs. Three separate pieces have sometimes been found thus pushed down, one upon the other. Paper rolled up, which is also used for protecting the ear when cotton wool is not at hand, is still more irritating when it is thus left unremoved. The way to avoid this accident, besides being careful not to forget, is to use a large piece of the wool, and to place it over, rather than in, the passage. It should be remembered that constantly covering up the ear is adapted to injure it. On the whole, men, in whom the ear is habitually exposed, suffer if anything less from ear- disease than women, in whom it is so often covered. Nor can the " hat " be held an unsafe head-dress in this respect for the latter sex. But it is important that there should not be frequent changes, especially in cold weather, from a head-dress which covers to one which exposes the ear. It is better that the air should always have free access to it ; but if this has not been the case, the summer should be chosen to make the change. All sorts of substances are sometimes put into the ear by children, who do it to themselves or to each other in ignorant play. If every parent and teacher warned his 54 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. children against doing this it would not be a useless precaution. When the accident happens, the chief danger is that of undue haste and violence. Such bodies should be removed by syringing with warm water alone, and no attempt should be made to lay hold of them or move them in any other way. It is enough to reflect, again, that the passage of the ear is closed by a delicate membrane to show the reason for this rule. When no severe pain follows, no alarm need be felt. It is important that the substance should be removed as speedily as is quite safe, but there need never be impatience; nor should disappointment be felt if syringing needs to be repeated on many days before it effects its end. Hr will almost invariably succeed at last in the hands of a medical man, and is most effective if the ear is turned downwards, and syringed from below. Now and then an insect gets into the ear and causes great pain : the way to get rid of it is to pour oil into the ear. This suffocates the insect. There is another danger arising from boyish sports. Snowballs sometimes strike the ear, and the snow remaining in it sets up inflammation. This danger is increased by a practice which should be inadmissible, that of mixing small stones with the snow, which thus effect a lodgment in the ear. Care should be taken that no water remains in the passage. THE FACULTY OF HEARING. 55 Among the causes of injury to the ear must un- fortunately be reckoned bathing. Not that this most healthful and important pleasure need therefore be in the least discouraged ; but it should be wisely regulated. Staying too long in the water certainly tends to produce deafness as well as other evils ; and it is a practice against which young persons of both sexes should be carefully on their guard. But independently of this, swimming and floating are attended with a certain danger from the difficulty of preventing the entrance of water into the ear in those positions. Now no cold fluid should ever enter the ear ; cold water is always more or less irritating, and if used for syringing rapidly produces extreme giddiness. In the case of warm water its entrance into the ear is less objectionable, but even this is not free from disadvantage. Often the water lodges in the ears and produces an uncomfortable sensation till it is removed: this should always be taken as a sign of danger. That the risk to hearing from unwise bathing is not a fancy, is proved by the fact, well known to lovers of dogs, that those animals, if in the habit of jumping or being thrown into the water, so that their heads are covered, frequently become deaf. A know- ledge of the danger is a sufficient guard. To be safe it is only necessary to keep the water from entering the ear. If this cannot be accomplished otherwise, the head 56 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. may be covered. It should be added, however, that wet hair, whether from bathing or washing, may be a cause of deafness if it be suffered to dry by itself. Whenever wetted, the hair should be wiped till it is fairly dry. Nor ought the practice of moistening the hair with water to make it curl to pass without remonstrance. To leave wet hair about the ears is to run great risk of injuring them. In the washing of children, too, care should be taken that all the little folds of the outer ear are carefully dried, and gently, with a soft towel. But I come now to what is probably the most fre- quent way in which the ears are injured : that is, by the attempt to clean them. It ought to be understood that the passage of the ear does not require cleaning by us. Nature undertakes that task, and in the healthy state fulfils it perfectly. Her means for cleansing the ear is the wax. Perhaps the reader has never wondered what becomes of the ear-wax. I will tell him. It dries up into thin fine scales, and these peel off one by one from the surface of the passage, and fall out impercep- tibly, leaving behind them a perfectly clean smooth surface. In health the passage of the ear is never dirty ; but if we attempt to clean it, we infallibly make it so. Here by a strange lack of justice, as it would seem, which, however, has no doubt a deep justice at the bottom the best people, and those who love cleanliness, THE FACULTY OF HEARING. 57 suffer most, and good and careful nurses do a mischief negligent ones avoid. Washing the ear out with soap and water is bad ; it keeps the wax moist when it ought to become dry and scaly, increases its quantity unduly, and makes it absorb the dust with which the air always abounds. But the most hurtful thing is introducing the corner of the towel screwed up, and twisting it round. This does more harm to ears than all other mistakes together. It drives down the wax upon the membrane much more than it gets it out. Let any one who doubts this make a tube like the passage, especially with the curves which it possesses ; let him put a thin membrane at one end, smear its inner surface with a substance like the ear-wax, and then try to get it out so by a towel ! But this plan does much more mischief than merely pressing down the wax. It irritates the passage, and makes it cast off small flakes of skin, which dry up, and become extremely hard, and these also are pressed down upon the membrane. Often it is not only deafness which ensues, but pain and inflammation, and then matter is formed which the hard mass prevents from escaping, and the membrane becomes diseased, and worse may follow. The ear should never be cleaned out with the screwed-up corner of a towel. "Washing should extend only to the outer surface, as far as the finger can reach. Ear-picks, again, are bad. If there is any desire to 58 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. use them it shows that the ear is unhealthy; and it wants soothing, not picking. And there is another dan- ger from introducing any solid thing into the ear. The hand may get a push, and it may go to far. Many is the membrane that has thus been broken by a bodkin. Sportsmen sometimes have their membrane pierced by turning suddenly while getting through a hedge. And it even happens that a boy at school may put a pen close to another's ear, in play, and call . to him to make him turn his head ; and the pen pierces the membrane. Very loud sounds may cause deafness, too. Artillery- men, and also eager sportsmen, and very zealous volun- teers, incur a danger from this cause. It is well to stop the ears when exposed to loud sounds, if possible ; also to avoid belfries when the bells are about to ring. A man who was once shut up in one, became stone deaf before the peal was done. The sound of guns is more injurious to those who are in a confined space with them, and also if the mouth be open. Injury from loud sounds, also, is much more likely to occur if they are unexpected; for if they are anticipated, the membrane is prepared for them, without our knowledge, by its muscles. At certain points on the Rhine, it is, or was, the custom of the captain of the steamboat to fire a small cannon, to exhibit the echo. When this has been done without due warning, it has proved more than THE FACULTY OF HEARING. 59 once a cause of lasting deafness. Sometimes these loud sounds rupture the membrane; sometimes they deaden ,the nerve : the former is the least evil. It is a bad practice, also, to put cotton-wool soaked in laudanum or chloroform into the ear for the relief of toothache. It may be sometimes effectual, for the ner- vous connection between the teeth and the ear is very close. But the ear is far too delicate and valuable an organ to be used as a medium for the application of strong remedies for disorders of other and less important parts; and laudanum, and more especially chloroform, are powerful irritants. The teeth should be looked after in and for themselves, and if toothache spreads to the ear, that is the more reason for taking them thoroughly in hand; for prolonged pain in the head, arising from the teeth, may itself injure the hearing. When a child's ear becomes painful, as it so often does, everything should be done to soothe it, and all strong irritating applications should be avoided. Pieces of hot fig or onion should not be put in; but dry flannels as hot as can be borne should be applied, with poppy fomentation if the pain does not soon subside. How much children suffer from their ears, unpitied because unknown, it would probably wring the hearts of those who love them suddenly to discover. It is often very hard, even for medical men, to ascertain 60 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. that the cause of a young child's distress is seated in the ear, and frequently a sudden discharge from it, with a cessation of pain, first reveals the secret of a mysterious attack, which has really been an inflammation of the drum. The watchfulness of a parent, however, would probably suffice to detect the cause of suffering if directed to this point, as well as to others. If children cry habitually when their ears are washed, that should not be neglected ; there is, most likely, some cause of pain. Many membranes are destroyed from discharges which take place during "" teething." Whenever there is a discharge of matter from the ear, it would be right to pour in warm water night and morning, and so at least to try and to keep it clean. But into the treatment of diseases of the ear it would not be suitable to enter here. III. THE EYE AND SIGHT. SIGHT is perhaps, taken singly, the most valuable of our natural faculties. To the lower animals and to uncivil- ized man it is of an importance which it is not easy to exaggerate; but it has become to ourselves, through the introduction of writing and of the printing press, of shall I say? tenfold worth. The high value set upon the eye is indicated by many figurative expressions in daily use; and every one must have noticed the instinctive pride we all feel in the possession of good sight. People will boast of their sight who are beyond boasting of anything else ; and those who unfortunately are obliged to admit that now the faculty is failing, will still find comfort in assuring you that in early life they were " remarkable for strong sight." Those whose sight has failed, almost always date the commencement of their defect quite recently, often long since the time at which it must have begun. Whilst this instinctive sense of its value renders some people painfully apprehensive as to very slight symptoms, it renders others and the majority absolutely unable to admit, even to them- 62 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. selves, that there is anything the matter. Surgeons who practise in diseases of the eye often meet with curious illustrations of this, and often have difficulty in convincing those who have in reality lost half of what they ought to possess, that they are not rich. Observing the immensely increased value of sight to civilized men, it is a matter of congratulation that blindness is far less frequent among them than among savages. With a little allowance for the effects of climate and of occupations, it may be asserted that the higher the civilization, the smaller the proportion of those who are blind, or who suffer from irremediable defects of sight. In England, perhaps, it is smaller than in any other part of the world. In Egypt, India, China, and Japan, the number is very large indeed ; and one of the most valuable qualifications of the medical missionary is a knowledge of this part of surgery. The way in which civilization brings about this splendid result one for which we can never be too thankful is partly by improving the general sanitary state, diet, clothing, etc., but chiefly by the increased care of the organs and the scientific treatment of their diseases. Even in England there is still much that might be done towards the preservation of this valuable faculty, were the true nature of its disorders better understood ; and it is not only amongst medical men that a wider THE EYE AND SIGHT. 63 diffusion of knowledge in this matter is to be desired, but also amongst the public at large. In the following article the endeavour will be made, not only to exhibit the eye and its endowments as an interesting lesson in physiology, but also to supply information as to some of the common causes of its failure, and the best means for their prevention or remedy. We will speak first of the parts which are seen on looking at the front of the eye. In order to better understand and remember what is described, the reader will do well to borrow a friend's face for a few minutes' close examination. First we have THE EYELIDS. These are two movable folds of skin intended to protect the eye. In order to stiffen them and make them fit well, there is placed in each a narrow strip of gristle (or cartilage). You will observe that the upper lid covers the eye rather more than the lower ; that the edge of the lower lid is nearly straight that of the upper arched; and, lastly, that the upper lid moves more freely than the lower one. The upper lid can be lifted at will considerably; but the lower one can be but very little drawn down. Both can be moved freely in the act of closing the eye. The upper lid has a special muscle by which it is lifted. The muscle by which we close the lids is common to 6 4 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE, both. Under each lid there is a sort of pouch, or hollow, which may be easily seen in the case of the lower lid by drawing it down. Into these pouches little particles of dirt, insects' wings, bits of chaff, straw, etc., sometimes get, and there lie hid, causing much irritation to the eye. From such positions they are FIG. 1. THE EYELIDS WITH LASHES, ETC. often difficult to dislodge. They lie out of sight, and it is necessary to turn the lid over to expose and re- move them. This should be done by a surgeon. If surgical aid be not at hand, it is sometimes possible, by taking a hair and doubling it, and then pushing the noose up under the lid, to draw them out.* * These remarks apply only when the intruding body is under the lid, not when it is simply on the front of the eye. From the latter situation THE EYE AND SIGHT. 65 At their outer corner the two lids meet and join at a sharp angle, but at the inner corner they do not quite meet, but leave a little round space between them. In this inner corner you will observe a red, fleshy- looking mass, about the size of a pea; this is a gland, which is of much larger size in some of the lower animals than it is in man. It is in the little pond, or hollow, which exists at the inner corner of the lids, that the tears collect before they escape away into the nose. When a person cries, the tears are so freely poured forth, that they cannot all escape by the channels to which I refer, and, in consequence, run over the cheeks. In a certain sense we may be said, however, to be always crying quietly. Tears are constantly being formed, and having passed over the surface of the eye, escape without observation into little channels which lead into the nose. A sharp-sighted person may easily find the opening (close to the inner corner of the lower eyelid) into which the tears enter. The lid must be held down, and it will then be seen as a round dot, about large enough to admit a pin. There is another the best way to remove it is to oil the end of a finger, and then carefully touch the eye ; this is easily borne, if gently done. The finger end may be covered with a soft handkerchief ; its front surface, not its tip, should be used. Olive oil or castor oil will do ; the latter is the better for the purpose. VOL. I. F 66 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. in the upper lid, but it is not so easy to find. If a pin were pressed into this little hole, it might, if dex- terously managed, be made to find its way inwards FIG. 2. THE EYELIDS WITHOUT LASHES, ETC. (From Quain's Plates.) a, a. The openings of the tubes for the escape of tears. 6. The little pond at the angle of the lids in which is placed the body known as the "caruncle." and downwards into the nose, for there is an open tube or channel the whole way. Many troublesome diseases result from the stopping up or narrowing of these delicate canals., the chief symptom of which is the over- flow of tears on any slight irritation such, for instance, as exposure to wind. THE EYE AND SIGHT. 67 As regards the formation of tears, it is necessary to remark that, although formed in part by a sort of oozing from the whole surface of the eye, they are chiefly poured out by a large gland provided for that special purpose, and placed deeply above and to the outer side of the eyeball. From its position, the water it forms must pass over the surface of the eye before it can escape at the inner corner. By this arrangement the eye is better washed, and any particles of dust, etc., are carried away. At the margins of the lids we have THE LASHES ; certain rows of stout hairs which grow in beautiful curves, and which serve both to adorn the features and to protect the eye. Close to the roots of the lashes there are, as is the case with all hairs, certain little glands, which form a sort of oil, and allow it to escape upon the hair,, so as to keep it from drying and cracking. Near to the roots of the lashes, but not actually opening upon them, are also other and larger glands, which form a kind of wax; this being poured out at the edge of the lid keeps it always coated, and thus prevents the tears from running over it. You may see these glands by drawing the lower lid down. They look like little yellow streaks about a quarter of an inch long, and appear to be somewhat knotted. In the woodcut we have shown, first, an inner row of 68 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. small holes, the openings of the glands, and, secondly, a number of yet smaller holes outside these, and ar- ranged rather irregularly in two or three rows; these are the openings from which the hairs have been pulled out. At the inner corner of both upper and lower lid, a large black dot marks the opening of the canal for the escape of the tears towards the nose. All these glands are liable in certain states of the health, and especially after measles in delicate children, to inflame, and a sore-looking red edge to the lid is then produced. To cure this, in bad cases, surgeons often pull out all the lashes, and sometimes repeat the process several times. The lashes always grow again, and usually better than before. About six weeks is long enough for them to be reproduced in full perfection. Now look at THE FRONT OP THE EYE ITSELF. You will notice a round part like a watch-glass, about the size of a sixpence, and set in a white structure which surrounds it. This white structure extends backwards out of sight completely round the eyeball, and is its chief coat or wall. It is called the sclerotic, from a Greek word, signifying that it is dense and strong. The clear part, which I have compared to a watch-glass, is called the " cornea." Through this clear cornea you look into the eye, and we now have to observe two parts, the black part in the middle, called the " pupil," THE EYE AND SIGHT. 69 and the coloured part which surrounds it, called the "iris." The cornea is convex, like a watch-glass; the iris is flat, like the watch-face. Between the cornea and the iris a few drops of clear water are placed. Now let us try the effect of light upon the iris and pupil. Close one eye altogether; shade the other with the hand for half a minute; and then suddenly expose it to a bright light. You will find that the pupil enlarges very much when shaded, and closes when exposed to light. This is effected by the iris, which is a sort of screen, attached only at its rim, and with a hole (the pupil) punched through its middle. In noticing its contraction on exposure to light, you have learnt the chief use of the iris; it is a shade intended to shut off glare, and to regulate the quantity of light admitted. Look at the pupil of a young child, and compare it with that of an adult, and then with that of an old person. You will find the child's large, that of the adult smaller, and that of the old man very small, perhaps little larger than a pin's head. Th& size and brilliant blackness of the pupil have much more to do with the expression of the eye than has the colour of the iris. Hence the comparative want of expression and of lustre in the eyes of old persons, and much of the sparkling beauty of the eyes of the young. An unusually large pupil generally implies 70 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. delicacy of constitution. The fact that it gives ex- pression to the eye has, however, been so fully recog- nised, that, in Italy, ladies are reported to employ a drug for the purpose of obtaining it. This drug has from that circumstance received the name of "bella- donna," or "the beautiful lady." It is needless to say, however, that its use confuses the sight, and that such fancied beauty is very unwisely purchased. Now let us look closely at the IRIS, and admire the beauty of its structure. That the colour of the iris may vary in different persons, every one knows; for it is this structure which gives what is called the colour of the eye. You will see, on minute inspection, that its colour varies at different parts in the same person, and also that it presents various lines and markings of great complexity and beauty. The iris, although a great aid to distinct vision, is not essential; and now and then persons are born without it, who still enjoy tolerable sight. The iris is about as thick as stout blotting-paper ; and, whatever may be its colour in front, it is always of a deep brown, almost black, behind. I have already said that the pupil (the black round part in the middle) is merely a hole through the iris. It looks black, just as a hole into a dark room would do; but the structures behind it are quite clear and THE EYE AND SIGHT. 71 colourless. It is through this hole, the pupil of the eye, that the rays of light enter. With this brief description of the pupil and iris, ends what I have to say as to the structures which can be seen on looking into another person's eye. Before proceeding to explain the yet more important ones which lie out of view, I must ask attention to a few other points. The eye, as every one knows, is "a very sensitive organ." Why is this ? Because it is richly supplied with nerves. Every movement of the eyelids, every alteration in the size of the pupil, is accomplished through the means of these nerves, which, like so many microscopic telegraph-wires, connect the various parts, and send messages between them with vast rapidity. Is there too much light, the iris is ordered to contract; is the glare extreme, the lids also are made to close. The influence of the nerves does not, however, end here. Through their power the flow of tears may be increased or lessened. If a particle of dust is lodged in the eye, pain is the result ; and this pain, quite apart from any effort of the will, makes the eye water, causes an overflow of tears, by which probably the offending body is washed off. Most persons are aware that one of the best ways of dealing with a gnat in the eye is to close the lids for a minute or 72 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. two. A large accumulation of tears is the result, and on suddenly opening the lids the offending midge is carried away in the deluge. In Fig. 3 we see exposed some of the nerve-trunks FIG. 3. AN EYEBALL PARTIALLY DISSECTED. (From Holden's " Anatomy.") The thick white outer coat, sclerotic (a), has been cut away in most parts. In front the iris and pupil are seen (b, the iris). External to the iris is a ring of whitish structure, the ciliary muscle (c). At the back of the eyeball the great nerve of sight, the optic nerve, is seen entering the globe, and around it are twigs (d) of small nerves, which run forwards to supply the iris, ciliary muscle, etc. These nerves (e and e) are seen again after they have pierced the sclerotic. Under the nerve-trunks are seen the beautifully branching vessels which compose one of the inner coats of the eye (the choroid). which supply the eye. Each one of these, although not thicker than a hair, would be found, on inspection THE EYE AND SIGHT. 73 with a microscope, to consist of a bundle of very minute tubes, each isolated from its companion by a sheath, much as telegraph wires are cased in gutta- percha and then put together in one rope. These nerve-tubes have different duties to perform some carry to the brain the sense of pain or other feelings (nerves of sensation), others carry from the brain orders to act, either to muscles or to glands. It is by these latter or motor nerves that the pupil is altered in size, and that we are able to fit the eye at one moment for looking at a distant prospect, at another for reading the smallest print. It is by the nerves which act on the glands that we regulate the flow of tears in crying, and by the irritation of which the eye "waters" when anything has got into it. If a certain branch of nerve were paralysed, the power of shedding tears on that side would cease, and the patient would be placed in the ludicrous position of being able to cry only with one eye. Such cases occur now and then. I have omitted to say anything as to what may be called the skin of the eye. The lids are lined, and the front of the eyeball covered, by a very delicate, almost transparent membrane, which differs chiefly from skin in that it is constantly kept moist. It is con- tinuous with the skin of the eyelids at their edges. On the front of the cornea it is quite transparent and 74 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. invisible ; but it is still there, as is proved in the case of serpents, which shed their skins once a year, and with it a perfect and unbroken membrane from the front of the eye. It is this membrane which chiefly carries the blood-vessels, and which becomes red in cases of inflammation. It is also well supplied with nerves. This membrane is technically called the conjunctiva, because it connects and covers in all the other struc- tures. Every one must have noticed how readily, even in persons in good health, the eyes sympathize with any slight disturbance. A bad night, or any temporary nervous exhaustion, will make the eyes feel heavy and "gritty," and will cause the lids to look swollen and red at the edges. The " lack-lustre eye " is proverbial ; and to the general expression of " seediness " which follows a night of dissipation, the eye contributes perhaps more than any other part of the physiognomy. All these little changes are brought about by the influence of the nerves on the blood-vessels and other structures of the parts. In almost every village there is some Lady Bountiful to whom the poor resort for " eye-water," when they need it. It is related of a French quack doctor, that having realised a large fortune by the sale of a secret remedy for ophthalmia, he was on his death-bed the THE EYE AND SIGHT. 75 subject of much compunction on the score that his specific had been, as he then explained, only river- water coloured. His surgeon told him to quiet his qualms, and assured him that it would be well for the public if all nostrums for this purpose were equally harmless. I think the surgeon was too severe. The household remedies in vogue usually consist of some weak mineral solution alum, sulphate of zinc, and the like ; and these remedies are very suitable to a large proportion of slight inflammations of the eye. Their chief evil is, not that they do actual harm, but that they often prevent those who ought to obtain proper and well- skilled advice from doing so sufficiently early. For slight colds in the eye, weak astringents such as those mentioned, or such as cold tea (a very popular remedy), are quite suitable; but let me enforce the rule, that on no account should they be trusted to when there is much pain or redness in the eye, nor in the inflammations which occur in infants. Here I may suitably explain the real meaning of some expressions in popular use as regards diseases of the eye. A " blood-shot eye " is an eye in which the minute blood-vessels are much enlarged, and thus parts which should have been white become more or less red. This condition generally implies inflammation. 76 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. A " watery eye/' or what is sometimes synonymous a weak eye, means the condition produced when, owing to the stoppage of the minute channels for the tears, the latter find their way over the cheek. The term "weak eye" is often applied to states of long persisting inflammation of the roots of the eyelashes. "White specks on the eyes" are produced whenever ulcers on the cornea, which ought to be perfectly clear, hav^ healed and left scars. Such white specks are the natural result of the healing process, and are quite inevitable after many inflammations. As the ulcer heals, it becomes whiter and whiter ; and then, after a long time, the film slowly clears away, and, in the course of years, may almost disappear. No surgical art can take these specks away, though certain operations may sometimes be performed for obviating their effect on sight. A ' ' cast " or " squint " is said to exist whenever the direction of one eye does not correspond with that of the other. In a state of health, the two eyes move together with admirable and instantaneous precision. If they did not do so, we should see two objects in- stead of one. A squint may occur either inwards or outwards. When inwards, which is by far the more common, the person becomes " cross-eyed," and obtains a peculiar sly expression, as if he were anxious to look THE EYE AND SIGHT. 77 in two places at once. When the squint is outwards, the defect in expression is greater, for it makes the countenance look somewhat silly and vacant. The move- ments of the eyeballs are accomplished by little slender muscles which adhere to its sides, and pull it, now in one direction, now in another. These muscles are FiG.'4. THE FOUR STEAIGHT MUSCLES OF THE EYE. (From Holden's "Anatomy.") The muscles are here shown lifted up from the ball, to exhibit their attachment on its front surface, not far behind the edge of the cornea and iris. chiefly four (see Fig. 4), one above, one below, and one on each side. The reader must not suppose that they stand off from the eye, as shown in the woodcut ; on the contrary, they fit closely to its sides, like narrow strips of india-rubber on the sides of a marble. If any one of these muscles becomes either stronger or weaker 78 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. than its antagonist on the other side, a squint is pro- duced. Surgeons cure squints by simply cutting the stronger muscle through, and thus weakening its hold on the eye. The operation is, to a dexterous hand, quite a simple one, and of course does not involve, as some fancy, "taking the eye out and turning it." Most persons who squint require spectacles, and many squints might be prevented by their timely use. As I have said that unless the two eyes move accu- rately together, we see objects double, it will perhaps occur as a difficulty to some who may have experience of squinting, that these persons are not usually troubled with double vision. The explanation is this : When a squint first occurs, all objects are seen double. This is extremely perplexing and tiresome, and, to get rid of it, one eye learns not to see, or, to speak in pro- fessional language, one image is suppressed. Thus squinters use only one eye at a time. A very curious and instructive result follows on this disuse. Tbe eye which is intentionally made to remain idle becomes almost blind. Now, if an eye had been disused in consequence of a large speck in front of it, or a cataract, it might have remained so for twenty years, and not have become blind; so great is the difference in result from enforced and from voluntary disuse ! A sermon might be preached on this text. What a warning THE EYE AND SIGHT. 79 for the idle, and also for the ascetic ! that we cannot voluntarily decline to use any of the faculties with which we are endowed, without risk of entire loss of that which we thus neglect ! We will proceed to try a few easy experiments. 1st Exp. Look through the window, standing within a foot of the pane, and fix your sight on the particles of dust on the latter. By an effort, you can see them definitely and sharply. Now look out into the street or garden, but exactly in the same direction. You will find that when doing so you lose sight of the specks on the pane, and that to see them again you have to alter your eye, so that you do not see the distant objects. It is clear that your eye when looking at a near object and at a distant one is in different conditions. Now take an opera-glass or a child's telescope, and having adjusted it accurately for some object at a great distance, try to use it for a near one. You will find that the same adjustment will not do, and that you must alter the screw. Surely there is something in your eye which has the same effect as the screw of the opera-glass, and by altering its adjustment gives you the power of see- ing accurately at one time the most distant objects, at others the nearest. We have said the nearest ; but no, there is a limit here. It does not matter how far objects are off, provided they are large enough; the 8o PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. stars, the moon, etc., you can see them clearly, but not so with near objects. Try this page. Nearer than eight inches (if you have properly formed eyes) you cannot without a sense of straining effort read the type, and nearer than five all is blurred and indistinct. The same occurs with the opera-glass. You cannot by its screw adapt it for very near objects. With it, as with your eye, there is a limit to "adjustment" or "accom- modation." We have found, then, that it is in looking at near objects that an effort has to be made, and hence the reason why small objects near to one are so trying to the eyes, whilst a distant prospect rests and strengthens them. Before we_ examine how accommodation is effected we must try another experiment. 2nd Exp. Take any strong magnifying glass, and hold it at a little distance from a wall in front of a well- lighted window. You will find that it depicts upon the wall a much reduced picture of the window, and that this picture becomes bright or blurred according to your care in holding the glass at the correct distance. You cannot move it ever so little, either forwards or back- wards, without disturbing the brightness of the image. Notice that the image is wrong side up, or inverted. Now the eye consists essentially of a magnifying glass thus used, and it paints pictures within itself exactly in the same manner. Certain parts are of course added to THE EYE AND SIGHT. 81 it, which much facilitate the performance, but the lens power is the essential. The lens is inclosed in a dark FIG. 5. A SECTION OF THE EYEBALL FROM ABOVE DOWNWARDS. a. The anterior chamber bounded in front by the cornea, ft. The posterior chamber, c. The canal of Petit at the edge of the lens. d. The iris. e. The ciliary processes. /. The ciliary canal, g. The ciliary muscle (muscle of accommodation), k. The sclerotic, i.j. The two layers of the choroid. ft. The retina. 1. The optic nerve. N.B. The lines in the vitreous humour represent its framework, but it must not be supposed that it is crossed by dark lines, as here shown ; on the contrary, this framework, like the substance it incloses, is perfectly transparent. chamber, so that the brilliancy of the picture may not be damped by rays of light coming sideways ; the iris is provided in front to regulate the quantity of light ad- mitted; and lastly, we have a nerve-surface to receive VOL. I. G 82 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. the picture, and nerve-trunks to convey the impression to the brain. The lens power of the eye is produced in part by the cornea and its contents, in part by the "lens" itself, and in part by the vitreous humour be- hind it. Their combined power is about equal to a magnifying glass of one inch focus. You will see in Fig. 5 how they are arranged. Now let us try to explain how " accommodation " is effected. In the case of the opera-glass it is done by the screw, which increases or lessens the distance of the Fia. 6. glasses from each other. In the eye we have no screw, nor is it possible to materially alter the distance of the parts from each other. The result is gained by making the lens itself more powerful at one time than at another. This lens is placed just behind the pupil, and is about the size and shape of a small " acid-drop." It is of firm structure, but not hard, and is capable of being squeezed so as to become more convex. Fig. 6 shows its shape and size after removal from the eye. In Fig. 5 it is seen in place in the eye. Accommodation is, then, effected THE EYE AND SIGHT. 83 by making this structure more or less convex, and this is done by a muscle which exists within the eye and surrounds the margin of the lens (see Figs. 3 and 5). Why accommodation should be necessary, we will next try to explain. Every object that you can see becomes visible by the rays of light which it either gives off or reflects. Lu- minous objects, the sun, a candle, etc., originate their own rays ; all others reflect those which they have re- ceived. If an object reflected no light, it would be black, and invisible. The type which you are now read- ing is in a strict sense invisible ; it is the white spaces between the letters which reflect the light, and which are really seen. Now, rays of light always proceed in straight lines ; they are capable, as we have seen, of being reflected or thrown back by any surface on which they strike ; they are capable, also, let us now assert, of being refracted or bent out of their usual course by any transparent substance through which they pass. Trans- parent substances refract light in differing degrees according to their degree of density, and according to their external form. Our next assertion shall be, that all rays of light radiate, or, in other words, proceed from a point forwards in all possible directions. Make a dot near the edge of a sheet of paper, and then with a ruler draw as many straight lines from it as you 84 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. possibly can, none of them quite touching anywhere but at the point of starting. This will give a good idea of how rays of light diverge, and how a pencil of light is formed. You will easily see that in no position could the pupil of the eye possibly receive all the rays of light, and that the farther off it was carried, the fewer it would get. You may notice, also, in the diagram which you have i FIG. 7. DIAGEAM OF AN EYEBALL OF EXACTLY NATURAL LENGTH. (From Danders.) Parallel rays are brought to a focus (0") by the lens, etc., at the bottom of the eye, precisely on the retina. constructed, that the lines nearest the middle are those most nearly parallel to each other. The rest diverge more strongly. Now, imagine that these lines were prolonged not only across your sheet of paper, but across a wide room, or across a field. .Under such circumstances, only those rays which were in the middle, and nearly parallel with each other, could possibly enter an observer's eye; all the rest would have diverged and passed away to the sides. Two things have, it is hoped, been made clear by THE EYE AND SIGHT. these statements. First, we have shown why it is so difficult to see distant objects, unless they are of large size, or very well lighted ; and, second, that we see dis- tant objects by means of rays of light which are parallel, and near ones by the aid of rays which are divergent. 86 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. Now, since both the divergent and the parallel rays must be focussed at the same place (the bottom of the eye), it is clear that the apparatus must, in order to effect this, be accommodated. In order to deal with divergent rays (those from near objects), the lens must be made stronger, or, in other words, more convex. We have already stated that this is effected by a muscle which exists within the eye. When this muscle is at rest, the eye is adapted to receive and focus parallel rays from distant objects ; when in action, it can focus divergent ones. Hence the feeling of effort and fatigue which often results from long looking at small objects. It may possibly have occurred to some unusually atten- tentive and intelligent reader, that we are involved in a little difficulty, in asserting that effort is needed for near objects. Do not, it may be asked, the parallel rays from a near object gain access to the pupil as well as the divergent ones; and if so, why cannot we use them without effort, just as we use them when at a distance, and when we receive them only ? The explanation is, that the divergent rays which are received with them confuse the image. If they could be excluded, then the eye could use the parallel rays as well close as miles away. To be certain of this, try another simple experi- ment. With a fine needle prick the smallest possible hole in a card, and then try to read, looking through THE EYE AND SIGHT. 87 this hole, and putting the card and the page close to the eye. You will find that you can see letters through such a hole which are all blurred and indistinct without it ; you can, in fact, read at an inch distance from your eye, whereas without it you cannot read at a shorter distance than eight inches. The eye may be imperfect as an organ of vision with- out there being any actual disease, and merely on account of some peculiarity in its form, or peculiarity in its apparatus for accommodation. A great many persons are born with their eyeballs a little too long or too short, and hence great inconvenience in using them. It is only when the eyeball is exactly the proper length, that its use as an optical instrument its adjustment, etc. can be perfect. When it is of proper length, then the sharp- ness of sight will be found to be almost exactly the same in all persons. There are limits as to the size of objects which can be seen both in the distance and near, and these limits are about the same for all persons whilst the eye is in a state of health. We will now ex- plain some of the common defects. OVER-WORKED EYES. WEAK SIGHT. We have proved that muscular effort is necessary to see near objects ; the smaller and nearer, the greater the effort. Now the muscle of accommodation, although accustomed to long work, may yet under unusual stress tire and fail. When 88 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. it does so, the eye becomes unable to see near at hand, and is compelled to rest. It is just as if you had been long standing on tip-toe to look over a wall; there conies a time when you can do it no longer. This over- fatigue is very common in some occupations : needle-women, engravers, printers, press-correctors, and the like, very frequently suffer from it. Indeed, the last-mentioned occupation, when pursued as it is by some, for twelve or sixteen hours a day regularly, almost always wears the eyes out sooner or later. In many cases the eyes will, however, bear without detriment an extraordinary amount of work. We have compared the effort of looking long at small print, etc., to the effort of standing tip-toe; and, to follow the comparison, it is clear that the shorter the individual, the more fatiguing would be the effort of looking over a wall. Just so in the case of the eye : the shorter the eyeball, the greater the muscular effort necessary. Now, a very large number of persons have the eye from birth a little below its proper length. Such persons are obliged to employ the muscle of ac- commodation much more than others, and are very liable to suffer from its over-fatigue. They complain that they can see well for a little while, but cannot go on long. This symptom indicates the need for spec- tacles. It is only quite lately that it has been found THE EYE AND SIGHT. 89 out that this kind of weak sight results simply from the shortness of the eyeball. We owe the discovery to Professor Bonders, of Utrecht, and, thanks to him, thousands now enjoy by the use of spectacles perfect sight, who formerly would have had to go through life with a constant and great deficiency. The prejudice against spectacles for young persons used to be very strong, but it is now happily disappearing. Now and then, even young children discover that they can see much better in their grandmothers' glasses ; and when such is the case, spectacles ought always to be supplied. If they are not, the symptoms of weak sight and of over- worked eyes are almost certain to be developed. For this condition, convex-glasses, "old sight," are needed. It is the opposite to short sight, and depends on the op- posite condition of the eyeball. SHORT SIGHT occurs when the eyeball is too long egg-shaped instead of round. It is very common, and runs in families. The eyeball is usually too long from the time of birth, but it often increases in length sub- sequently. A person who is the subject of short sight, enjoys excellent vision for near objects ; he has, in fact, a microscopic eye, and can " inspect a mite " in much more detail than another. He pays for this gain in one direction by a loss in another. He cannot see objects in the distance cannot "comprehend the heavens." 90 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. Often, however, he will go through a large part of life rejoicing in his advantage, and quite unaware of his "< a >> i .a s to U3 fl IB .a ^ -t> g a 1 loss. Having no standard of comparison, he believes THE EYE AND SIGHT. 91 that the manner in which he sees into the distance is the best attainable. An adult myope* who has never tried glasses is amazed, on using them for the first time, at the clearness with which he sees that which always before had been hazy and indefinite. The reason that a long eyeball disables for distant vision is, that the lens of the eye being too forward, its focus is in front of the bottom of the eye, instead of exactly upon it. Thus, the eye can use divergent rays more easily than one of proper length, but cannot focus parallel ones at the proper place. This may be corrected by the use of a concave glass, which will make parallel rays diverge. Thus, myopes use spec- tacles of an opposite kind to those required by old persons, or by the weak sight which results from a too short globe. Short-sighted persons acquire certain peculiarities of appearance. In the first place, their eyes often look full and prominent, and frequently have large pupils ; next, from constantly trying to see better in the distance, they are apt to acquire a habit of " screwing " the eyelids ; and, lastly, from the ne- cessity of bringing the head near to the object * The learned term for short sight is myopia. Myopic means short- sighted ; and a myope, a short-sighted person. 92 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. ob served, a certain degree of stoop is apt to be developed. These bad habits may, in many cases, be prevented by the use of proper spectacles. It is said that myopia even induces peculiarities of charac- ter, and that myopes are usually unsuspicious and easily pleased; being unable to observe many little matters in the demeanour or expression of those with whom they converse, which, being noticed by those of quicker sight, might induce feelings of dis- trust or annoyance. There is an opinion widely prevalent, that short- sighted eyes are strong eyes, and wear well. Un- fortunately, this is a mistake; for, in not a few cases, this condition is progressive, and ends in very serious failure of sight. It is quite true that, as a set-off for the fact that throughout life he has never been able to see clearly in the distance, the myope may in old age still retain his power of reading without glasses. In this sense, his eyes may last longer than those of his friends, but in no other. Those who are short-sighted ought to observe a few simple rules in order to preserve their eyes. They should be careful to prefer large type for read- ing, and to hold the book up to the eyes, not bring the eyes down to the book. In writing, they should use a high desk, and on no account bend over a flat THE EYE AND SIGHT. 93 ible. They should avoid, as far as may be, all close rork, and relieve the eyes by frequent rests. Those who are short-sighted in but slight degrees may use spectacles or not, according to inclination ; those who are so in a considerable degree will find safety as well as present advantage in their use; whilst those who have the defect in very high degrees must be cautious, and use glasses only under skilled advice. In all forms, if too strong glasses are used, they will increase the defect and irreparably damage the eyes. We have no wish to make a large class of myopes unduly anxious about the durability of their eyes. It is only in cases in which the sight gets shorter and shorter from year to year that alarm need be felt; then the necessity for rest is urgent. Unfortunately, short sight occurs very frequently in those who are of a studious turn, and who are con- sequently very likely to increase it by their habits. It is an exception to what we said in the beginning as to the influence of civilization upon the prevalence of eye diseases. It is a defect to a large extent due to the pursuits introduced by the inventions of civil- ized life. It is rare amongst those who cannot read, and amongst those who follow out-of-door pursuits; and is believed to be more common amongst the studious Germans than amongst any other nation. 94 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. Although undoubtedly induced by occupation, it may be transmitted hereditarily. OLD SIGHT (presbyopia). It is often thought that old sight is "long sight," and that it is in some sense opposite to short sight; but this is a mistake. Old people have no advantage over the young as re- gards sight in the distance; they have simply lost the power of seeing near objects well. It would be strange indeed if advancing age, which slowly but surely robs us of our various faculties, added anything to that of sight. It certainly does not. The impairment which ensues from age is the gradual loss of the power of accommodation. We have compared that power to the screw in an opera-glass, or to the movement of the tubes of a telescope one within the other. "We might extend the comparison, and suppose that by constant use the screw has got worn, and will no longer act. Very gradual indeed is the commence- ment of old sight. About the age of thirty-five, with- out our noticing it, we begin to be less able to see small things near to us, and by the age of forty-five we have learned instinctively to keep the book an inch or two farther off than we did in youth. From this period onward to old age, the faculty fails steadily until we become quite unable to bring a book near enough to read from it. This loss occurs to all persons THE EYE AND SIGHT. 95 whose eyes were originally of proper length, and it is far more exactly proportionate to our years than is generally supposed. Even when no longer able to read at all without glasses, the power of distant vision may be perfect. For this, no accommodation is wanted, and it is that power which alone has failed. The eye is itself per- fectly healthy, but the lens substance has got harder and harder, and can no longer be altered in form, and thus made stronger when requisite. In some cases, however, the lens not only gets harder, but also somewhat flatter, and then its possessor will require spectacles both for distant and near objects, though he will be able to see distant objects with much weaker glasses than those which he uses for reading. Old sight can always be remedied by spectacles, and it is most desirable that they should be used; they save the eye from fatigue, as well as improve its use- fulness. The risk of using them too strong is not great, and the subject may be allowed to select for himself those that suit him best for reading. They ought to enable him to read easily at twelve inches' distance. It is a natural result from the slowly pro- gressive character of the failure, that stronger and stronger glasses will be necessary as age advances. If the progress is rapid, and especially if glasses do 96 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. not relieve it so much after a while as they did at first, then advice is needed. You sometimes notice at church an old man with his spectacles on the tip of his nose, and his prayer- book held as far off as possible. These are sure signs that he wants stronger glasses. The effect of putting the spectacles farther from the eyes is to in- crease their power. The glasses used ought, how- ever, to be strong enough to allow of their being kept close to the eyes, and it ought not to be neces- sary to hold the book more than a foot away. CATAEACT. We now have to - explain another very important and curious defect, which occurs chiefly in the aged. "We have said, that as years advance, the lens gets harder; sometimes not only does it harden, but it changes from a state of transparency, like glass, to one of yellow haze, like amber or bees-wax, or even to a dense white, like spermaceti. When the lens has thus become opaque, a cataract is said to have formed. If you look at Fig. 5, you will easily see, from the position of the lens, exactly behind the pupil and in the centre of the eye, that it must, when opaque, prevent light from entering. Cataracts usually form slowly and without pain, and often take several years before they quite exclude the light. They are very common in the aged, as a mere result of age, and THE EYE AND SIGHT. 97 without any disease, and now and then they occur also in infants and in young persons. The art of removing cataracts is one of the greatest triumphs of surgery, and is now the means of restor- ing sight to thousands who would otherwise be com- pelled to end their lives in darkness. In certain cases, in which the cataracts are said to be soft, the sur- geon is content to stir them up with a needle, and leave them to dissolve ; but in others, and the ma- jority, he makes an incision in the eye, and takes the lens bodily out. After successful operations for cataract, the use of spectacles is always necessary, for one of the most important parts of the refracting apparatus has been removed, and must be replaced by a lens in front of the eye. Formerly, surgeons used to "couch" for cataract; that is, instead of extracting the lens from the eye, they would, with a needle, displace it from the axis of vision, and leave it in the deeper parts of the eye. By looking again at Fig. 5, you will understand how this was practicable. It is a clumsy and imperfect procedure, and is now never thought of by scientific surgeons. I mention it chiefly in order to remark that now and then a cataract is displaced or couched, by accident a blow or a violent shake, for example or even without any assignable cause. In such cases VOL. i. H 98 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. the astonished subject is suddenly restored to sight. It is very possible that some of the supposed miracles of the middle ages may have been cases of this kind. Surgeons meet with, after operations for cataract, very curious illustrations of the differences in human temper. Often the most grateful triumph will be displayed at the restoration of even a very limited share of sight ; and now and then an old woman will grumble, after a brilliant success, because she " can't see well without spectacles." In addition to the common defects which I have described, and which are of great interest to the non- professional reader as well as to the surgeon, the eye is liable to a great number of special diseases. A large group of these are seated in the deep parts of the organ, and cause more or less complete blindness without anything being visible externally. Such was the condition of Milton : " These eyes, though clear To outward view of blemish or of spot, Bereft of light, their seeing have forgot." To this group the term AMAUROSIS used to be given ; and a witty writer defined it to mean cases in which the patient was blind and his surgeon could see no- thing. The discoveries of modern science have, how- THE EYE AND SIGHT. 99 ever, rendered this description no longer applicable. The surgeon can now examine the deep parts of the eye just as easily as those on the surface. This is done by a little instrument named the Ophthalmo- scope. By its aid, and with artificial light properly arranged, the interior of the eyeball, its blood-vessels, the optic nerve, etc., can be readily seen, and any disease which may be present easily appreciated. It is not practicable here to describe either its use or its revelations. We may remark, however, that many of the details of the eye as seen by the ophthalmo- scope are exceedingly beautiful and interesting, and that there is no reason why doctors should keep them to themselves. The instrument is as easily used as the microscope; and it is to be hoped that, before long, opportunities will be afforded to amateur physi- ologists, as well as to professionals, for enjoying the marvels which it displays. A countryman of our own, Mr. Gumming, made the earliest observations on the possibility of seeing into the living eye; but it was reserved for Helmholtz, Coccius, and Reute, of Ger- many, to invent and perfect the instrument which has, in a double sense, thrown such a flood of light on the obscure diseases of the eye. Their successful labours entitle them to high rank amongst the bene- factors of mankind. ioo PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. In reference to the diseases of the deep parts, we must say a few words respecting the ANATOMY OP THE RETINA, etc. By referring again to Fig. 5, the reader will see that the optic nerve enters the back of the eyeball, or rather it passes backwards out of the eye, and thence into the skull, to be joined to the brain. Phis nerve begins in the eye as a delicate outspread membrane, which lines the back of its cavity, and is in contact with the vitreous humour, which latter supports it, and holds it in place. The retina is indi- cated in Fig. 5 by a broken line. This retina is the structure which receives impressions. On it, as on a photographer's plate, images of objects seen are focussed by the lens apparatus in front. By means of the optic nerve (a bundle of nerve-fibres, or tele- graph wires), the retina is made continuous with the brain; indeed, it may, in a certain sense, be regarded as a part of the brain drawn out of the skull, and packed within the eyeball to serve a special purpose. In structure, the retina consists of nerve fibres, and of a very delicate and complicated arrangement of minute nerve-cells. Close behind the retina is THE CHOEOID, a membrane which supplies the back of the retina with blood, and which also, being loaded with black pigment, .serves to absorb any superfluous light. In white rabbits, in albinoes, etc., there is no THE EYE AND SIGHT. 101 pigment in the choroid, and hence the red glare of their eyes, and hence, also, an inability to bear strong light. Outside the choroid we come to THE SCLEROTIC, the thick, strong, white membrane which gives form to the eyeball, and supports the whole of its marvellous internal mechanism. IV. THE SENSE OF SMELL. IN our previous chapters we have been treating of those of our senses which minister specially to the mind. We come now to those which are connected more closely with the body; and we see at once a great distinction. For hearing and for seeing at least, as we see and hear we require not only nerves capable of being affected by the minute vibrations of light and the larger ones of sound, but also very intricate and complicated organs to receive these vi- brations, and convey them to a not less complicated aervous structure. But the remaining senses are more simple. Wonderful as is the power of appreciating the variety of odours and of tastes that are presented to us, and vast as are the pleasure and advantage thence arising, we shall see that they are conferred by very simple means ; and so may note that in .Nature, as there is no grudging of resources, so also there is no waste. Nothing is done for show. The perfect beauty of the human form is the expression of work most perfectly, and in the simplest way, adapted for its end. THE SENSE OF SMELL, 103 We will take first the faculty of smell. The place which this sense occupies is determined by its nature. It must be situated in the channel through which we breathe, inasmuch as the perception of odours is very largely dependent upon the passage of air over the nerve which is to be affected by them. We can imagine that the eyes, or at least the ears, might have been placed elsewhere without losing much of their usefulness, indeed, if Professor Huxley is to be believed, some creatures have them in their tails, but smelling must be seated in the nose. How tantaliz- ing a delicious odour would be, if we could not sniff it up. This action is the equivalent of " looking/' or " listening ; " and, indeed, it may explain to us, by an easy example, what the real nature of looking or listening, or, in a wider sense, of attending, is. Besides the action of the mind, trying to perceive, there is, in all cases of attending to our bodily im- pressions, a bodily action also an action of the muscles. We "sniff up" a faint sound by adjusting the tension of the drum, and in examining a minute object the eye "sniffs up" by contraction of the pupil and adjustment of the lens. In this respect, as in others, one law goes through all the senses. Even if we did not smell at all, we must still have a nose to breathe through. For it may not be amiss T04 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. to remark being upon noses that the habit of breathing through the mouth instead is a very bad one, and one that should never be tolerated, especially in children. Not that it should be combated by command or argument alone, though these are need- ful, still less by punishment. It never exists unless there is an impediment to the natural way of breath- ing, in the form, generally, of swelling of the lining of the nose or throat, and that impediment should of course be cured. We ought to breathe, not through our mouths, but through our noses, not only because it is by this means alone that we can duly receive and enjoy the odours (when enjoyable) which accompany every breath, or take warning by them if the contrary, but because the nose is itself a natural respirator. It contains a special provision for warming and moisten- ing the air inspired. Fig. 1, which represents a section of the nose from, above downwards, illustrates this point. The reader is supposed to be looking from behind, and the section to be made about half-way between the tip of the nose and the ear. It will be seen that instead of being a simple channel, through which the air might pass unimpeded, it is cut up into a number of small and winding passages. It is, in fact, subdivided by various curved plates of bone, THE SENSE OF SMELL. 105 which project from each side towards the central par- tition, and leave at no part more than a comparatively FIG. 1. SECTION THKOUGH THE NOSE FROM ABOVE DOWNWARDS. a. Bone of forehead. 1). The frontal cells, c. Central partition, or septum, of the nose. d. The middle spongy bone. e. The inferior spongy bone. /. Cavity in the cheek bone. g. Communication of this cavity with the nose. narrow space. Besides this, the nose communicates with large free spaces on each side and above, which are all of them filled with air. The spaces at the sides lie behind the projections called the "cheek bones/' and the spaces above constitute the promi- nence, much larger in some persons than in others, just above the nose and between the eyes. Now io6 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. these spaces have nothing to do with smell, neither indeed has all the lower part much the larger part of the nose itself. The large, curved, projecting bone (Fig. 1, d), called the lower spongy lone, and all the portion of the nose on a level with and below it, receive none of the nerves of smell. These are confined to the upper part of the cavity (see Fig 2). The lower two-thirds, nearly, of the nose, and all the adjoining cavities, serve to prepare the air for the purposes of breathing, and at the same time fit it to act more powerfully in exciting the sense of smell. For this purpose these parts are covered with a thick layer of membrane which, especially in the neighbourhood of the spongy bone, receives a very large supply of blood. (Thus it is that the nose bleeds so freely and so frequently.) This membrane secretes the mucus with which the nose is moistened, and it thus serves at once to warm and to moisten the air which is inhaled, and which must pass over this surface before it can reach either the lungs or the upper portion of the nose appropriated to the sense of smell. The tears, also, which are continually washing the surface of the eye (see page 65), pass down into this portion of the nose, and so help to maintain its moisture. During " colds " these secre- THE SENSE OF SMELL. 107 tions are sometimes enormously increased. The cells which line the lower part of the nose as in many other parts of the body are provided with what are termed cilia minute hair-like processes, which during life, and indeed for a short time after death, are in a state of rapid motion to and fro. Thus regular currents are maintained in any fluids that may be present. In the upper part of the nose, where smell is performed, the cells do not posses cilia, and the membrane is still softer and thicker, affording a bed for a special nervous structure. This nervous structure is represented in Fig. 2, which shows the olfactory nerve (as the nerve of smell is termed) as it is distributed on the outer side of each nostril. It is distributed also in a similar way upon each side of the central partition. These nerves come off on each side, from a bulb of nervous matter (Fig. 2, &), which consists of small cells like the grey matter of the brain, and which is connected with the brain by a short stem. The bulbs lie within the skull, immediately above the nose, and the nerves pass into the nostrils through some twenty or more small orifices in the bone ; which accordingly, when it is dry, looks somewhat like a sieve at this part, and is called the " sieve-like plate." Passing through the perforated plate of bone, loS PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. the nerves form a close network on both sides, and on the roof of the narrow upper portion of the nose (see Fig. 1). Besides these special nerves of smell, the interior of the nose is supplied with nerves which FIG. 2. THE DISTKIBTJTION OF THE NEETE OF SMELL IN THE OUTEK WALL OF THE NOSE. a. The bulb of the olfactory nerve, b. Its branches, c. and d. Branches of a nerve of ordinary sensation, e. Distribution of these on the lower spongy bone. Below are seen the upper and part of the lower jaw. give it ordinary sensation, and which are parts of the same nerve that gives sensation to the face, the eyes, the teeth. The nerve of smell is different in its character from THE SENSE OF SMELL. 109 the other nerves, being very soft, and not having a distinct outer part, or sheath, and internal " axis." * It is unlike any other nerve also so far as is yet known in this, that it passes to the very surface of the body, its fibres at their termination being entirely uncovered. The cells which clothe the mucous mem- brane on which it is distributed are of what is called FIG. 3. TWO OF THE CELLS WHICH COVER THE MEMBRANE OF THE NOSE, WITH ONE OF THE TERMINATIONS OF THE NERVE OF SMELL. a. nerve. &. cells. Magnified 500 diameters. (After Schultzc.) the columnar form (see Fig. 3, a). And lying side by side with them are found minute rods or cylin- * It has been doubted by some whether this nerve really is the organ of smell, but into this controversy we need not enter. One of the strongest arguments for its being so is, that it is more developed in animals in proportion as their sense of smell is strong. no PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. ders, with, cell-like expansions about midway in their length, which there is good reason for believing to be the ends of the olfactory nerves (see Fig. 3, &). These nervous rods or cylinders are very numerous, so as to surround the cells of the mucous membrane FIG. 4. SURFACE OF THE MEMBRANE OF THE NOSE (MAGNIFIED 500 DIAMETERS). The large spaces are the ends of the cells. The ends of the nerves are the small white points around them. From the horse. (After Schultze.) (see Fig. 4), and they terminate on the same level with them, so that they come into direct contact with the air and whatever odorous substance it may convey, except in so far as they are guarded by the mucous fluid that bathes the whole surface. This fluid it is the function of numerous small glands (little bags lined with small cells), embedded in the soft and pulpy membrane, to secrete (see Fig. 5, d). This is the simple arrangement of parts on which the sense of smell depends. The external form of the organ which contains them is THE SENSE OF SMELL. too well known to need description. But it may be mentioned that the outward nose is made up of two FIG. 5. C J ^ = ~- SECTION OF THE MEMBRANE LINING THE NOSE. a. Layer of cells. &. Boundary between the cells and the membrane beneath, c. The nerve of smell, d. Small glands. Magnified 200 diameters. (After Schultze.) portions : an upper, rigid, and consisting of thin plates of bone; and a lower, movable, and composed of several distinct portions of cartilage or gristle, which are acted on by four small muscles on each side. Thus the nose 112 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. is able, by its motions, not only to take its due part in the expression of the countenance, but also to assist in respiration, as we may well see in the flushed face of a child who has run himself out of breath, and often but too often on sad sick-beds, in the pale and livid counte- nance of suffocating men. The opening of the nostrils is lined with small hairs, which serve as some protection against the intrusion of foreign bodies floating in the air, and they lead into the upper and back part of the throat by three partially distinct passages, called the upper, middle, and lower meatus of the nose, which are separated from each other by the lower and middle spongy bones (see Fig. 2). The sense of smell is very widely distributed among animals, in many of which the olfactory nerves are much larger than in man ; and even when no olfactory nerve can be found, the possession of smell is often proved by actions. Its chief use appears to be to aid in the choice and discovery of food, and it might be expected, there- fore, to be more acute in many classes of animals, such as the beasts of prey, than in ourselves, who are in this respect less dependent on it. The development of this sense in dogs is very remarkable ; and not less so is the peculiar direction it appears to receive in different species, which is probably not wholly due to training, each having as it were its own natural prey. And the THE SENSE OF SMELL. 113 chemist, who has to trace out the poisoner, often, like the bloodhound, hunts him down by smell; in many cases distinguishing by their odours the different forms of poison better than by any other means. But perhaps the most remarkable development of the sense of smell is found in the insect tribe; and Dr. Hicks has recently shown that a large nerve, which goes to the posterior pair of wings in four-winged insects, or the corresponding nerve in those that have only two (as the house-fly), is the nerve of smell. In many classes of insects this nerve is larger or smaller, as the eyes are less or more perfect : it is very small, for instance, in those which pursue their prey by sight, as the dragon-flies, the eyes of which are so conspicu- ously large. In moths, like the silk-worm moth, the sense of smell appears to be carried to the highest pitch, and to have its chief use in match-making. But even in man, the sense of smell is sometimes very acute. There are persons who can distinguish the presence of a cat through several doors. And, like all our senses, it is susceptible of great development by exercise. The savage smells almost like the dog ; and persons unhappily deprived of other senses have some- times found in this lowly faculty no inconsiderable com- pensation. It is recorded of James Mitchell, who was born blind and deaf, that he could distinguish persons VOL. I. I ii4 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. and recognise strangers by the sense of smell. Hum- boldt states that the Peruvian Indians can distinguish by it, in the dark, persons of different races. A distinction must be made between odours, properly so called, and other sensations which the nose shares in common with the rest of the surface, such as that of the heat of mustard or the pungency of hartshorn. These we do not smell, but feel, and we feel them with peculiar acuteness in the nose, because there the sensitive nerve has a very thin covering. This feeling of hot or pungent bodies may remain when the sense of smell is entirely lost, a loss which not very unfrequently occurs, either from the effect of often-repeated "colds," or from disorder of the nerves. It is happily not a very serious inconvenience, the chief disadvantage being the absence of protection against hurtful vapours, which often betray themselves by their fetor. In some cases, in which the sense of smell has been lost, the presence of ill odours could still be recognised by a tendency to increased secretion of saliva which they produced. On the other hand, persons who have never possessed this sense at all (and some are born without it) may pass a long life and never discover its absence. If, however, it has been once possessed, its loss is felt as a great privation. One of our most gifted authors thus afflicted, describes in touching language, the exquisite delight which the THE SENSE OF SMELL. 115 sudden perception, though but for a moment, of the odour of a field of beans in full bloom afforded. Nor, indeed, should we be at all in the right if we despised the sense of smell as a trifling possession, or even if we estimated its value however highly we might place it on these grounds by the mere bodily advantages or pleasures it secures. Though ranking behind sight and hearing, smell also is a faculty with spiritual relations. These are manifested in various ways. Perhaps one of the most interesting is the strange power which sensations of odour have of awakening memory, and recalling with extraordinary vividness long past and forgotten scenes. Tennyson refers to this power in his " Dream of Fair Women " : " The smell of violets, hidden in the green, Poured back into my empty soul and frame The times when I remember to have been Joyful and free from blame." And very many of us, who are not poets, have had the days of childhood in all their innocence flashed back upon us with the freshness of reality by some sudden odour, which has brought at once tears to our eyes and purer thoughts to our hearts. Whether it was from associations of this kind, or from some feelings connected with odours that the distractions of later days have lost us, perhaps we cannot u6 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. now discover, but that the early world felt a sacredness in odours of which we have lost the consciousness, seems beyond question. Through all antiquity not a temple was erected to any god that did not smoke with continual offerings of frankincense and all sweet per- fumes. The same feeling, that fragrance was the best and highest of all gifts, extended itself into private life ; and if any man would receive a guest with special honour, or testify the utterest grief and love for a departed friend, he lavished upon him the richest spices and the costliest perfumes. And though much of pride and luxury in private life, and much of gross superstition in religion, mingled with and defiled these usages, yet that they were not devoid of a genuine foundation many passages of Scripture may teach us. The Jews were commanded to offer sacrifices of sweet smells, and a special altar to burn incense upon was directed to be made of shittim-wood, overlaid with gold. Nor is the meaning of these sweet-smelling sacrifices left doubtful. They were the types of praise and prayer ; the ascending smoke represented the sighs, the songs, of the assembled congregation ; it wafted visibly to heaven the groanings that could not be uttered, the gratitude too deep for words. What passionate longings, crushed into the deepest recesses of the heart, where no human eye could see them ; what secret bursts of exultation and delight, THE SENSE OF SMELL. 117 have poured themselves out, have found themselves written large and full yet unbetrayed in those fra- grant wreaths that filled the Temple, acceptable to Him who filleth heaven and earth : crowned by the passion of that heart which broke in fragrance on the Saviour's feet ! And still, in highest heaven, the prayers of the saints are as vials full of odour; these prayers, wrung from our hearts by fierce sorrows, by terrible temptations, by consciousness of weakness, by sense of sin; these are the sweet odours unto Him. They are made sweet by sympathy, by knowledge of the triumph they foretell. To us in this aspect odours are as nothing. They have sunk, even, almost into an undeserved contempt, as the very types of luxury. It is interesting to in- quire why this should be. The difference has been ascribed to a greater sensitiveness to odours on the part of the early and Eastern nations, together with the greater abundance of perfumes in the warmer climates they inhabited, and the need they felt for bathing, with subsequent anointing. But we do not think these are the true reasons, though they may have had some share in bringing about the change. To us it appears that a truer and more powerful cause is to be found in the gradual development of music. The ear, in short, has supplanted the nose. It is in sound, and not in scent, that the emotions of the modern ir8 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. world find their expression. Though musical instru- ments were in use from the earliest periods, the ancients could hardly be said to have had, in our sense of the word, any music; and when we consider what that is to us and does for us, we can hardly fail to see that, if our fathers really were of like passions with ourselves, they must have needed something to supply its place. This their use of odours evidently did. They employed them in public places, bestowed them on their friends at their entertainments, made them part of every public ceremonial ; all which we do with music. Above all, they made perfumes a chief element in their religious services; but with us music has emphatically taken this place. It weeps and exults and aspires for us ; it teaches oar languid hearts to feel; and while it lifts our very souls to heaven, we cannot miss the wreaths of odorous smoke that performed the same ser- vice for the men of old. It is no argument against this view that some earnest religious bodies repudiate music except in its simplest forms, and that those churches which make most use of music, as the Greek and Roman, also still use incense to a slight extent. More than one cause, doubtless, has been at work, but the fact of the substitution of sound for odour is manifest, and indeed the change is a natural one ; the affinity THE SENSE OF SMELL. 119 of the two senses is especially close, and the sweet scents prepared by nature may well have been the forerunners to untutored man of the sweet sounds the cunning brain and fingers of his maturer days should develop for himself. In "Twelfth Night," Shakspeare makes the duke say of music, " That strain again: it had a dying fall; Oh it came o'er my ear like the sweet south, That breathes upon a bank of violets, Stealing and giving odour." So, again, Lord Bacon, in his essay " Of Gardens," says, " The breath of flowers is far sweeter in the air ii'here it comes and goes like the warbling of music than in the hand." These two passages alone might suffice to make us feel that in its deeper meaning per- fume is one with music. In substituting the latter for the former, doubtless, we are largely gainers on the whole. The ear is an organ of far greater capacity for spiritual purposes than the nose ; but the gain may not be altogether on our side. We may concede that we have lost some- thing through that more frigid temperament and less genial clime which have degraded the sense of smell into a mere matter of bodily pleasure, and sanitary or scientific use. But on the whole it is a gain. If the musical faculty could only be fully developed at 120 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. the expense of the sense of smell, it was well the latter should be sacrificed; well, too, that in these days, when there is so much work for it to perform in making and keeping our cities wholsome, the nose should not be diverted from its proper work, in which it is unsurpassable, to romantic enterprises and toils of imagination, for which it is less fitted. The nose is a working organ after all, and loses no real dignity in resigning to the ear the function of rousing and ex- pressing feeling. On this point the late and much-to-be-lamented George Wilson has some remarks so excellent, that we cannot forbear quoting them. " I have not seen it anywhere laid down as a general rule, but I believe it might be affirmed, that we are intended to be impressed only sparingly and transiently by odour. There is a provision for this in the fact that all odours are vapours or gases, or otherwise volatile substances, so that they touch but the inside of the nostril and then pass away. "In conformity with this fleeting character of odorous bodies, it is a law in reference to ourselves, to which as far as I know, there is no exception, that there is not any substance having a powerful smell of which it is safe to take much internally. The most familiar poisonous vegetables, such as the poppy, hemlock, THE SENSE OF SMELL. 121 henbane, monk's-hood, and the plants containing prussic acid, have all a strong and peculiar smell. Nitric, muriatic, acetic, and other corrosive acids, have characteristic potent odours, and all are poisons. Even bodies with agreeable odours, like oil of roses, or cinnamon, or lavender, are wholesome only in very small quantities ; and when the odour is repulsive, only iii the smallest quantities. Without accordingly en- larging on a topic which might be unwelcome to many, it may be sufficient to say here, that, so far as health is concerned, the nostrils should be but sparingly gratified with pleasing odours, or distressed by un- grateful ones. No greater mistake can be made in sick rooms than dealing largely in aromatic vinegar, eau de cologne, lavender water, and other perfumes. This hiding of one odour by another, is like trying to put away the taste of bitter aloes by that of Epsom salts. Physical comfort is best secured by rarely per- mitting an infraction of the rule, that the condition of health is no odour at all. " Turning from this lowest and least attractive aspect of the sense of smell to one which acquires a higher importance from the moral considerations which, in some respects, it involves, it is of interest to notice how much longer we tolerate a forbidding odour than we continue to relish a grateful one. 122 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. "Perfumes quickly pall upon us, and we loathe the concentrated essences of even the sweetest flowers. But, in their daily calling, men submit without murmur to the most repulsive effluvia, and work even cheerfully amidst noisome gases. In the one case we seek pleasure, and are disappointed, because the nerves of smell, dulled by the first impression upon them, cannot with equal sensitiveness respond to a second. In the other, for the same reason, we can suffer without discomfort the diminished sharpness of the irritation, whose sharp- est provocations are its first. There is thus a physical rea- son why we should tire of a smell once pleasant, and grow indifferent to a smell once unwelcome. There is a moral reason also. For in the one case we think of pleasure, and in the other of duty. The palled perfume tells us that but little of our lives may be spent in merely pleasing our senses. The tolerated infection bids us sit by the sick man's side, and set the preciousness of his life over against a little discomfort to ourselves. And so it is that, while the listless voluptuary flings away the rose which has become scentless to him, the metal- worker labours heartily among the vapours from his crucibles and refining vessels, and the bleacher inhales without a murmur the fumes of his chlorine ; while, most tried of all, the busy anatomist asks no one for pity, but forgets the noisome odours about him, in THE SENSE OF SMELL. 123 delight at the exquisite structures which he is tracing, and the heroic physician thinks only of the lives he can save."* Nothing is more wonderful in respect to the sense of smell than the minuteness of the substances which are capable of affecting it. One part of musk in thirteen millions of air can be detected. Whether odorous substances give off minute particles which reach the nostrils, or whether smell may be excited by a motion caused by them, like that of heat or light, is not certainly decided; but probably both occur. Many odorous bodies, such as camphor, per- form peculiar motions when small portions are placed on water ; and Professor Tomlinson found that these were due to the rapid giving off of minute particles which form a film on the water. But the most in- teresting experiments on odorous bodies are those described by Professor Tyndall, in his recent volume on " Heat considered as a Mode of Motion." He finds that the minute atoms of which all gases consist, must be regarded as being in a state of motion, each one tending to fly off from the rest in a straight line; an odorous vapour fills a room so rapidly by virtue of this tendency of all its atoms, and it would fill it much more * The Five Gateways of Knowledge, p. 61. 124 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. quickly except that these atoms as they fly strike against and are hindered by the atoms of the air. But again, he finds, that odorous exhalations absorb a vast amount of heat. "No chemist/' he says, "ever weighed the perfume of a rose; but in radiant heat we have a test more refined than the chemist's balance. The quantity of hartshorn removed from a bottle by a single act of smelling, exercises more action on radiant heat than all the air contained in a large room. By testing various perfumes, Professor Tyndall found that that of the geranium absorbed thirty-three times as much heat as air, while that of aniseed absorbed three hun- dred and seventy-two times as much. This fact indicates that odorous substances are in a state highly prone to active change ; and Professor Graham has pointed out that, generally speaking, they are substances which are prone to unite with oxygen. Nor can we smell unless the odorous body is accompanied by a stream of air. We may be sure of one thing : that if the nose had not sunk down into a very degraded rank, it would never have been made a snuff-box. But however much a naturally refined and delicate organ may be thus perverted, perhaps it can hardly be affirmed that the moderate use of snuff does any special harm. It is, however, a matter worth considering, now that there is THE SENSE OF SMELL. 125 so much evidence that excessive smoking injures the sight, whether the application of tobacco to a region so closely connected with the eyes may not tend to injure them. But besides snuff-taking, which may itself be considered a disease, the nose is not subject to many morbid conditions. The small glands which cover it sometimes become obstructed with their own secretion, and give it a spotted appearance. Of this condition we shall speak when we treat of the skin. It becomes red from over-living, and from under-living likewise ; be- cause in each case the circulation of the blood is dis- ordered. When the nose is very prone to bleed, and cannot be arrested by door-keys down the back, or by cold water freely applied, the best plan is to let the child stand with his arms raised. He should be well sup- ported, and should be kept in this position until the bleeding ceases, which it does when he becomes faint. But nose-bleeding is in some cases so serious an affair, as to demand for its treatment the utmost surgical skill. When the nostrils are obstructed by thickening of their lining membrane, which is indicated by the mouth being kept partly open, by snoring, by a choky sound of voice, or when the breath coming from the nostrils is offensive, general medical treatment is re- quired, including plenty of air, exercise, and good food, 126 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. and guarding from draughts and damp; but, in the meantime, it is a most useful plan to draw up, quite through the nose into the throat, a little water, to half-a- pint of which a teaspoonful of salt has been added, and thus to wash the passage. In not a few cases, however, obstruction to the breathing through the nostrils arises from soft pulpy growths, which are the better for prompt attention. V. THE SENSE OF TASTE. TASTE appears to stand midway between the sense of smell and that of touch. It is closely allied in its use, and in the nature of the sensations it gives, to smell; from which it is, indeed, sometimes almost indistinguish- able. But in the character of the organs on which it depends it more resembles touch, and this in two respects : first, that we can only taste substances which are in contact with our own body ; and, secondly, that the nerves by which we taste are not, like those of sight, of hearing, and of smell, capable of that one office alone, but are ordinary nerves which can discern general sensations as those of pleasure or pain, or heat or cold, or touch, besides. Thus, as we descend in the rank of the senses, we find less and less that is special. In the eye and ear we have a special nerve and a special mechanism to receive the impression as well; in smell there is no special mechanism, a part of the general mucous surface of the body suffices to receive the impression of odours, but there is a special nerve; in taste, there is neither a special nerve nor special mechanism. 128 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. For though the tongue is the chief organ of taste, we must not think of it as being the only organ, or as existing even chiefly for that end. As the nose exists rather for breathing than for smelling, so the tongue is, in truth, more an organ of touch than of taste ; it exists rather as a means of grasping than of enjoying food, and might, perhaps, best be regarded as a kind of third or subsidiary hand ; as we see when we look at its use in many of the lower animals. In the shell-fish and the like to begin with the lowest creatures that have tongues this organ bears their teeth, and serves, not to taste, but to masticate. In many fishes, too, the tongue bears teeth, whereby they grasp their prey ; some others having no tongue at all. Among reptiles, the frog catches flies between the two portions into which the tongue is divided, as between the limbs of a forceps ; and the chameleon uses its tongue in the same way, darting it out to a length exceeding that of its whole body, and entangling insects by means of a viscid secretion with which its club-shaped extremity is covered. In birds, the tongue is usually horny at the tip, though there are some exceptions, of which the parrot is one. Its hand-use is seen in many instances ; in the humming- bird it is rolled into a sucking-tube, and terminates in hair-like filaments for retaining the nectar of flowers ,- in THE SENSE OF TASTE. 129 the toucan (a bird of the parrot tribe) it is fringed with bristly processes for trying the ripeness of fruit ; and in the woodpeckers it is barbed with sharp spines for seizing insects. Among mammalia, we may mention the tongue of the anteater, which resembles somewhat that of the chame- leon, and in seizing its natural food is protruded sixteen or eighteen inches. Some bats, again, possess in their tongue a perfect sucking organ ; and who has not noticed how the horse lays hold of the grass with his tongue ? In the flesh-eaters (the Carnivora), that organ is armed with horny recurved spines, which aid in grasping their food, or in rasping the flesh from the bones, not to speak of its use in cleaning their own coats. Of those four- handed creatures, the monkeys, we will not speak; no doubt they making, as they do, a fifth hand of their tails find little need for a hand-function in their tongues. But even in ourselves, it is noteworthy, that, so far as regards delicacy of sensation, the tongue is still the most highly endowed organ of touch, and can dis- tinguish many minute forms with greater exactitude than the be%fc trained fingers. In short, taste is a secondary function of the tongue, and is by no means exclusively confined to that organ. The upper and back part of the mouth is also endowed with this sense, and so, it would appear, from some VOL. i. K 130 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. recent experiments of Professor Syme, is the upper portion of the throat, still more highly. Having had occasion to remove the whole tongue of a man, Mr. Syme found that his patient could still distinguish different articles by their taste, but only when they passed into the pharynx in the process of swallowing. From this it would appear that the act of swallowing is essential to a full perception of taste. And the Pro- fessor well remarks, " If the pleasure of taste could be perfectly gratified by mastication without deglutition, there would be no limit to the consumption of food ; but the instinctive desire to swallow an agreeable morsel, affords a check to any such abuse." "We may add, that, although no doubt very naughty, children are perhaps not quite so unreasonable as is supposed in refusing to swallow nasty medicines, when they have taken them into their mouths. Still taste resides chiefly in the tongue, both by virtue of the fuller distribution there of the nerves of taste, and also because the tongue is able, by its motions, to roll sapid bodies between itself and the walls of the mouth, by which means their flavour is greatly inoreased. For he sense of taste appears to depend upon the substance tasted being dissolved, and its solution penetrating through the minute cells which cover the tongue (as they cover all the rest of the internal surfaces of the body) , THE SENSE OF TASTE. and coming into contact with the nerves which lie beneath them. This, of course, is greatly aided by the FIG. 1. SURFACE OF THE TONGUE, SHOWING THE P1PILL.E. A little more than half is given. a. The circumvallate papillae. 6. A larger papilla, situated in the centre and back part, and called the foramen ccecum. c. Fungiform papillje. d. Filiform and conical papillae. /. Glands of the fauces. g. Tonsil. 132 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. motions of the tongue, and by the pressure which it applies. The appearance of the surface of the tongue is re- presented in Fig. 1. It will be seen that it is covered with small elevations, and that these are of various kinds. In fact, the tongue bears on its surface no less than four different kinds of organs, if we may give them that name, of which one kind serves chiefly the sense of touch, another renders it more useful as a means of grasping objects, and two kinds serve the sense of taste. These organs are all termed papillae, because they con- sist in more or less pointed elevations of the covering membrane, into which there pass minute blood-vessels and nerves. The first kind of papillae, those which make the tongue so sensitive an organ of touch, are the smallest and most THE SMALL PAPILLA ON THE SURFACE OF ONE OF THE (FUNGIFORM) PAPILLA OF TASTE. numerous. They are minute, sharp processes, very much like the papillas which are found in the skin, and are closely studded all over the tongue, and even upon the THE SENSE OF TASTE. % 133 surface of the larger papillae : Figs. 2 and 4 exhibit them covering the papillae of taste. The second kind of papillae, those which enable the tongue to grasp, are less developed in man than in many other animals; they are called filiform (or thread-like), and are seen very much magnified in Fig. 3. The layer FIG. 3. OKE OF THE FILIFORM PAPILLA. a. The papilla terminating in small secondary papillae. &. The hair- like processes covering the papilla. of cells which covers them (as it covers all the other papillae) is prolonged into thin processes somewhat re- sembling hairs. They are set, for the most part, with a slight inclination backwards. In the carnivora these papillae are very large, and the hair- like processes are often of a horny consistence. These are closely set over the anterior three-fourths of the tongue, especially along the central part. They become shorter at the sides and tip, and are arranged in slanting ridges, which gradually disappear as they reach the edge. 134 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. The papillae which serve taste are the largest, but one kind much larger than the other. The smaller of the two are called fungiform, because they are larger at the upper part than at the base like a small mush- FIG. 4. SECTION OF A FUNGIFOKM PAP/LLA. Showing the blood-vessels entering it ; at the sides are shown the single loops of vessels which pass into the small papillae around. room or fungus (see Figs. 2 and 4). They are less numerous than the thread-like papillse of which we have spoken, but still are scattered in large numbers over the tongue, being more numerous at the sides than about the centre. They are of a deep-red colour, from their large supply of blood, and the layer of cells that covers them is thin and soft. The largest kind of papillae are found only at the back of the tongue (see Figs. 1 and 5) . They are called circumvallate (" walled-around ") because they consist of a central elevation surrounded by a depression, THE SENSE OF 'TASTE. 135 around which, again, there runs a slight elevated rim. Thus they resemble somewhat a citadel surrounded by a trench and by an external mound, both citadel and mound receiving blood-vessels and nerves. These FIG. 5. VERTICAL SECTION OF A CIBCUJIVALLATE PAPILLA. a. The papilla. &. The surrounding wall. c. Layer of cells covering them. d. Nerves, e. The smaller papillae, which, when found upon the larger or taste-papillae, are called secondary. circumvallate papillas are only from ten to fifteen in number, and are arranged quite at the back ,part of the tongue, in a form resembling the letter V, but with a less sharp angle (see Fig. 1, a). In these papillae the nerves are especially large. It thus appears that there are two modes, slightly differing, in which the nerves of taste are, as it were, " housed " at the surface of the tongue. Curiously enough, there are also two distinct nerves, which are distributed at least in chief part one to the fungiform papilla3 at the front and sides, and the other to the 136 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. circumvallate papillee at the back. These two nerves are seen in Fig. 6, at cj and i. FIG. 6. A SIDE VIEW OF THE TONGUE. Showing its nerves and some of its muscles. a. The cellular covering of the tongue partially raised, b. The papillae exposed, c. The circumvallate papilla, d. A muscle passing from the throat to the tongue, e. The muscle which radiates from the inside of the chin to the tongue. /. The artery of the tongue, g. Nerve of the anterior part of the tongue, g'. Its distribution, h. Nerve passing to join it through the ear. i. Nerve of the posterior part of the tongue. i'. Its distribution, k. Motor nerve of the tongue, supplying its mus- cles. THE SENSE OF TASTE. Still more curiously, it seems also to be the case tliat different kinds of flavours are perceived by these two nerves respectively; salt and acid substances being tasted chiefly at the fore part of the tongue, and bitter ones chiefly at the back. Experiments on animals also, have confirmed this fact : a dog in which the nerve of the posterior part of the tongue has been divided, will take quinine mixed with its food, but will not take acids; one in which the nerve of the anterior part has been divided, will take acids, but not quinine. And as pressure on the eye produces a sensation of light, and pressure on the ear one of sound, so also in the tongue various influences call forth its special sen- sation of taste, and this taste differs according to the part which is affected. Thus touching the tongue near its root with a glass rod, or placing a drop of water there, produces, at least in some persons, a distinct bitter taste. On the other hand, a current of air or a stream of electricity directed to the front part causes a salt taste. It was, indeed, by means of this salt taste generated in the tongue by an electric current, that Yolta's attention was directed to the production of electricity by the con- tact of metals, and hence the whole science of gal- vanism arose; showing, as Mr. Lewes well says, that "nothing is trivial except to trivial minds, and to 138 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. trivial minds nothing is important unless it directly concerns their interests." Professor Graham has lately pointed out a distinction between substances, which consists in their being capable or not capable of passing, when in solution, through thin membranes.* Soluble bodies which are crystalline, for the most part pass readily ; those which are of a jelly-like consistence do not pass. Hence, a division is made into crystalloids and colloids crystal- like and jelly-like bodies. Now, as might be expected, it is the crystalloid class of bodies, those which readily pass through membranes, that possess taste. And of these, acids and bitters appear to be most readily detected by the tongue, then saline substances, and lastly sweet ones. Of quinine one part can be tasted in 33,000 of water, of sulphuric acid one part in 10,000, of common salt one part in 200, and of sugar there is needed one part in 80. If the tongue be immersed for a short time in water made cold by being mixed with ice, or at a temperature as high as 125, the sense of taste is in a great measure lost. There is one exception to the necessity of a moist state of the tongue for the perception of tastes, and that * To this process he gives the name of dialysis. THE SENSE OF TASTE. 139 is in the case of gases, which, are only tasted when it is dry. Thus carbonic acid, which in water is taste- less, gives a sweetish acid flavour if directed in a stream upon the tongue after it has been dried. Taste is, perhaps, almost the soonest exhausted of the senses, as it is reasonable that it should be, having no purpose to serve when appetite is satisfied. It is also though capable of great cultivation, as in the case of tea-tasters one of the least discriminating. If port and sherry be alternately tasted by a man whose eyes are kept shut, he soon becomes unable to distinguish one from the other. This is probably due in some degree to the particles of each remaining a certain time in contact with the nerves. Besides, just as secondary colours are seen of a contrary kind, after the vivid im- pression of a very bright one, so there are secondary tastes, or " after-tastes " as they are called ; some bitter substances, such as tannin, being followed by a sensa- tion of sweetness. And one taste also may destroy another, or at least may dull the perception of a hot and pungent body. If it is masticated with a large quantity of salt, the pod of the red pepper may be eaten without burning the tongue. Thus we may see that the art of the cook demands no contemptible skill so to mingle flavours as to bring out the full power of each, and so to cause them to sue- 140 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. ceed each other as that each may add a relish to the next.* And though nothing is more contemptible, and few things more degrading, than to be a slave to the pleasures of the table, it yet behoves us gratefully to recognise the goodness that has surrounded the neces- sary act of taking food with enjoyments which, if moderately used and made the means of cultivating the social affections, are not without their elevating in- fluences. And it should never be forgotten, especially by those who have the management of children, that the pleasantness of the taste of food is a very important element in its value. No mistake could be greater than to suppose that our pleasures are squandered are wasted on us with no other result, though that is no mean one, than our enjoyment. Every one of them, in its due place, is a potent influence for good, even on our bodily frames. The thrill of natural delight that runs through a sensitive nerve imparts a fresh vigour to every function. But the delight must be a natural one ; the over-stimulation of the sense of pleasure exhausts as much as its natural gratification refreshes. * In Eussia, dinners sometimes begin with toasted cheese, and apparently with good effect. Perhaps, acting as a strong stimulus to the papilla, it increases their sensibility. THE SENSE OF TASTE. 141 And this law of the usefulness of natural pleasure is strikingly exemplified in the sense of taste. The food that is enjoyed is the food that is digested. The pleasure of eating is an essential factor in the due ap- propriation of the meal. In the first place, the savour of the food is the natural stimulus to the glands which secrete the saliva, and causes this fluid, which plays a very important part in digestion, to be poured forth in due quantity.* And there can be little doubt that the pleasurable sensations of taste have a similar influence upon the stomach, besides the general improvement of digestive tone which they induce. It is important for health that the food should be enjoyed, and therefore that within the bounds of strict moderation it should be such as can be enjoyed. This should be especially remembered in the case of invalids, the whole course of whose diseases may depend upon their food being such as excites and pleases their appetite. Nor should too strict a regard be paid, in many cases of sickness, to what is, however justly, con- sidered " wholesome." Medicines are not exactly " wholesome," yet they are necessary for some persons ; and foods not of very wholesome kinds are sometimes * That the saliva may be well mixed with the food, is one reason for the importance of perfect mastication. 142 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. of use when the sick man's, or sick child's, appetite demands them. Care should be taken to distinguish between a genuine craving of nature, and a merely acquired taste, or a desire, such as that for slate pencil, which is a symptom of disease requiring a proper treat- ment. But with due prudence here, a very humble deference to the demands of appetite is the fitting mode of feeding the sick. On this subject Sir Henry Holland remarks that " we are authorized to give greatest heed to the stomach when it suggests some seeming extravagance of diet. It may be that this is a mere depravation of the sense of taste ; but frequently it expresses a real need of the stomach, either in aid of its own functions, or indirectly for the effecting of changes in the whole mass of blood. It is a good practical rule in such cases to withhold assent till we find, after a certain lapse of time, that the same desire continues or strongly recurs; in which case it may generally be taken as the index of the fit- ness of the thing desired for the actual state of the organs. In the early stage of recovery from long gastric fevers, I recollect many curious instances of such contrariety to all rule being acquiesced in, with manifest good to the patient. Dietetics must become a much more exact branch of knowledge, before we can be justified in opposing its maxims to the natural THE SENSE OF TASTE. 143 and repeated suggestions of the stomach, in the state either of health or disease.* A surgeon of our acquaintance, in the case of a child apparently sinking from a lung disease, found out that anchovy paste pleased the palate, and, ordering it to be given freely, from that time appetite, and with it strength, returned. In another case, pickles were given with manifest advantage. It would be well if those who attend on any sick person should quietly notice any desires of this kind, and report them to the physician. Judgment is necessary, of course, and in health the ordinary rules of wholesomeness are less likely to be naturally departed from. So many articles of food also, such as pastry, are now made artificially nice with sugar and condiments, that the appetite becomes very liable to be led astray. In the fact, however, of the usefulness of pleasant tastes lies the explanation of the use of spices and other condiments, which are all good in their place ; and the thought that it is not for pleasure only, but as a guide, and as a positive advantage in digestion, that the enjoyment of food is given us, might well make us doubly careful to preserve the sensibility unimpaired by pampering or excess. * The reader may find this subject philosophically treated in a volume by the late Joseph Catlow, of Manchester, entitled Principles of ^Esthetic Medicine. 144 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. That in disease taste is often perverted, or for the time quite destroyed, is easily explained, at least in part, by the alteration of the fluids of the mouth and the thick layer of unhealthy secretion, or " fur," which covers the tongue, and cuts off the nerve from contact with the food. In fevers, and many other severe diseases, the tongue becomes also quite dry another condition, as we have seen, incompatible with taste and this may always be regarded as a serious symptom. But, on the other hand, the tongue should not be too "clean," especially after middle life ; a certain amount of secretion on its surface is natural, and anything like a fleshy redness of appearance is an indication of disorder of digestion. Taste is intimately connected with smell, as is well known to nurses : the common plan of holding the nose in administering physic being founded on a thoroughly scientific basis. In fact, as pointed out by Mr. Paget, not a few tastes may be strictly defined as odours per- ceived in expiration instead of inspiration. This may easily be tested by breathing out slowly through the mouth, immediately after swallowing a mouthful of tea. Taste seems to be, indeed, not only in the manner in which it is most naturally indulged, but even in itself, an eminently social sense; and this may fairly go to raise it from the low rank in which, on some grounds, we THE SENSE OF TASTE. 145 cannot but place it. Not only are the most delicate fla- vours but half-enjoyable unless in refined and affectionate society, for " What is a table richly spread, Without a woman at its head ? " but the faculty of taste itself refuses to put forth its full powers except in association with other senses. In this it is in pleasant contrast with some sensibilities of higher pretensions. When we are listening to music, for example, our eyes are no help to us : the dim religious light of the cathedral suits best the highest strains; even darkness might add sometimes to its sweetness and its power; all sensations but itself are intruders. But it is not so with taste. This genial faculty calls in both nose and eye to keep it company for it is well known that in the dark the daintiest viands lose half their relish. And there is no doubt a reason for this sociability, so to speak, of the sense of taste, in the fact that it is not dependent upon a single nerve, or a nerve dis- charging but a single function. Its two nerves, branches of some of the most widely-connected and highly- endowed nerve-trunks in the body, associate it inti- mately on the one hand with the remaining senses, and on the other with the chief internal organs. Thus the taste-nerve of the anterior part of the tongue is a branch VOL. i. L 146 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. of the nerve which supplies the whole face with its sensibility, including the eye, the nose, the teeth; and it is besides joined by a branch of another nerve which passes to it through the ear, and which certainly has a share in taste, besides helping to regulate the secretion of saliva. In this way the sense of taste, so far as it is seated in the front part of the tongue, is related to all the other senses, and to the great instrument of expression, the face ; and accord- ingly we see how a strong acid (a taste which has its seat in the front of the tongue) throws all the muscles of the face into contortions, and will even bring tears into the eyes. But an acid taste, however strong, will never make us sick. This is a function of the nerve which gives the power of taste to the posterior part of the tongue : an entirely different one, which is connected very closely with those of the stomach, lungs, and heart. The tastes that make us sick produce their impression on this nerve, having through it an effect upon the throat and stomach precisely corresponding to that which an acid has upon the muscles of the face. Even a touch upon the parts supplied by this nerve, as by tickling the back of the throat, as is well known, will produce the sensation of nausea. Perhaps it is not going too far to believe that it is for the sake of these wide-spread connections with other THE SENSE OF TASTE. 147 organs that the sense of taste special and peculiar as it is is not assigned to a special nerve, but is distributed between two nerves of general sensation. These wide relations are not matters of curious interest alone, but of most serious necessity. The very keystone and centre of our bodily life lies in this poor and menial faculty, that, uninstructed, teaches the whole world the things that are and are not good for food. The functions which taste discharges, therefore, demand its close and im- mediate intercourse with every part. In it, not so much one organ as the whole body acts ; what the taste affirms or denies is the affirmation or denial of the whole frame. The sustenance and guardianship of the body are in the keeping of the tongue; but the tongue is bridled nature has known how to tame it. If it were not for these wide connections of the sense of taste, this wondrous gift of instinct would be even more mysterious than it is. Taken as the reaction of the whole frame upon the various substances that surround it, the power of choosing by taste the whole- some from the unwholesome, is just sufficiently intelli- gible to excite our highest interest. The body thus pronounces on the congenial and the uncongenial, con- centrating itself into the point finer than that of the finest needle of a single nervous fibril ; but being none the less the whole body acting there. H8 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. We cannot but compare and with a boundless won- der our own most delicate and varied choice with the simple and passive affinities and attractions, of which nothing is so low in nature as to be wholly destitute, and whereby all things seek one element and refuse another. And this universal power we trace upward from mineral to plant, which, without consciousness, but with an instinct as sure as, or surer than, our own, absorbs the nourishment and leaves the poison; and from plant to lowest animal, which mere lump of jelly as it appears folds itself closely round its fitting morsel and repudiates all else : wondering the while where consciousness begins and " attraction " is converted into taste ; wondering, indeed, over more things than these, over many things, but chiefly this : what kind of perspect- ive it is that rules our eyes as we look at nature, and makes things look so small as they recede from us, and how large they truly are. If the sense of taste truly has a specially universal character, and more than the rest expresses the affinities of our whole bodily organization, then we can well understand why this faculty rather than any other has given its name to that finer sense to which art appeals, and which, when happily trained, enables men to recog- nise and delight in the truly beautiful alone. In taste, not only the body but the soul expresses its affinities, THE SENSE OF TASTE. 149 discerns and craves for the congenial, and seeks the sources of its development. Nor perhaps should the analogy ever be forgotten. A palate which the flavour of a poison does not repel has lost its guardianship of life; and so a man whom grossness does not shock, to whom refinement, purity, gentleness, heroism, have no charms, abandons his soul to death. Before we leave the tongue, we must just glance at its movements. In this respect it is probably the most wonderful organ of the body; and, as might be sup- posed, a great many muscles co-operate to give it its various motions. A partial view of these is given in Fig. 6. In the first place, the tongue itself is muscular, being chiefly composed of four distinct sets of fibres : of these, two sets run along its length, one above and one below ; the third set pass, in a curved direction, from above downwards ; and the fourth pass from side to side, also curved, like a shallow saucer. These last are attached to a dense partition in the centre, from which they radiate on either side. By these various muscles the tongue is expanded or contracted, and is bent upwards or down- wards, or to the sides. But, besides being thus itself a group of muscles, the tongue is moved by various other muscles which connect it with all the surrounding parts, some of which are ISO PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. shown in the cut. The chief of them is a large muscle which radiates like a fan from the inside of the chin to the under surface of the tongue, and serves to protrude it from the mouth (Fig. 6, e) . The motions of the tongue are also rendered more free by its being attached to a small bone situated in the throat, just above the projecting cartilage known as Adam's apple, and which bone is itself movable. But on this subject we may have more to say when we come to treat of the part the tongue plays in speech. It has a special nerve of motion, which is seen in Fig. 6, fc, and which has numerous connections with the motor nerves of the surrounding parts, whereby they are brought into conjoint and harmonious action. VI. DIGESTION. WE are apt to forget that there are two meanings belonging to the phrase inside the body. A. morsel of bread placed in the mouth is in one sense inside the body, but a needle run into the arm is inside the body in another and quite different sense. There is just the same difference here as between driving a coach and horses through the low and narrow gateway of the court- yard of an old-fashioned inn, and stepping from the uncovered yard into one of the many cosy chambers which surround it. The guest who stayed all night in the courtyard would gather but little hospitable comfort, and the food which we take would do us but little good, unless from being inside the body in one sense it came to be inside the body in the other sense. Digestion is, broadly, the passing of food from the general courtyard of the body into the many- chambered abode we call our flesh and blood. The doors that lead from the court are very narrow, so narrow that they can be hardly seen even when examined with powerful microscopes; and hence all the food we eat must be broken up, and divided 152 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. into the smallest possible pieces, before it really gets within us. In order to effect this, the whole of the alimentary canal is a busy scene of minute division. The moment any food passes into our mouth, it begins to be acted upon by forces which do their best to break it up into the finest possible particles, and the work begun there is carried on along the whole of the digestive track, until all the goodness that is in the food has been strained out of it. The forces are many, and of various kinds. Some are mechanical ; by them the food is cut and ground, chopped and minced, rubbed and churned, until its smallest particles are worn down to the smallest size. Others are chemical ; by them the solid food is reduced into the liquid state ; that is, the molecules making up the solid particles are changed in form and nature, in order that they may pass almost anywhere. Digestion, strictly speaking, is a process of solution and of fine division. These various forces, moreover, are brought to bear upon the food in succeeding districts ; the food has to run the gauntlet of them all. What the mouth does not digest, the stomach attacks; and what the stomach leaves, becomes a prey to the intestine. We have thus digestion in the mouth, digestion in the stomach, and digestion in the intestine, each differing from the others, DIGESTION. 153 but all having this object in view that the solid food should be converted into liquid material, capable of passing through the invisible pores of the membranous lining of the alimentary canal into the real flesh and blood, or be broken up into particles so small that they may squeeze themselves one by one through the minute openings which exist in certain parts of the intestinal wall. The digestive process begins in the mouth; among civilized people it begins in the plate, or even before. Since the food will, if it be digested at all, be broken up, as we have said, into particles smaller than can be seen with the naked eye, the practice of cooking or softening and rendering friable the meat and vegetables of the meal, and of cutting them into small pieces before placing them in the mouth, may be considered as just an artificial and highly praiseworthy lightening of the labours of the frame. But it may lead to incidental errors. Undoubtedly mastication is the natural method of mincing meat, and not the least of its value lies in the fact that it takes time. A man who is eating a tough and therefore not very digestible chop will be slow in eating, if he is careful to masticate it well. There will be a long interval between each mouthful, and the stomach will run no risk of being hastily loaded. Now, a hastily loaded stomach is as bad almost as, or 154 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. rather is the same thing as, an overloaded stomach ; and there can be no doubt that artificial mastication becomes a snare when it leads any one to introduce a large quantity of finely-minced meat suddenly and rapidly into an unprepared stomach, especially into the feeble stomach of an invalid, under the idea that, because the meat is so nicely minced and so very tender, it can be no possible burden to that sorely-tried organ. Natural mastication has, besides, another advantage over the artificial process, which is perhaps not always recognised. Whenever food enters the mouth, it gives rise to what is called a flow of saliva. This saliva is secreted by certain glands, which pour into the mouth the fluid they strain off from the blood, and which are excited or stimulated to action by the presence of food in the mouth, as well as by other causes. Now, putting aside for the present the action of this saliva on the food, either in the mouth or elsewhere, there can be no doubt, as we shall presently show, that it is itself a gentle and natural and yet most po- tent and useful stimulus to the stomach, urging that organ to pour forth a peculiar digestive secretion called gastric juice. Food itself is, of course, also a stimulus to the stomach, but it is at the best a rather rough and rude stimulus. The saliva, on the other hand, acts uniformly and softly; and most stomachs, like their DIGESTION. 155 owners, are more effectually led by gentle persuasion than by abrupt solicitation. Moreover, the saliva is what is called an alkaline fluid. Throughout the whole of the animal economy there is constant play between acids and alkalies. By alkali, we mean such things as potash and soda, which turn red litmus paper blue, and whose properties are destroyed or suspended when they are mixed with acids. By acids we mean such things, whether ordin- arily solid or liquid, as vinegar, vitriol, citric acid, etc., which turn blue litmus red, and whose properties are in turn destroyed, suspended, or neutralised, as the phrase is, by alkalies. It is perfectly impossible to understand the chem- m istry of digestion, or the chemistry of any of the pro- cesses of the animal economy, without duly appreciat- ing these characters of acids and alkalies. Upon them half the battle of life may be said to depend. Well; the saliva is an alkaline fluid, and it is pro- bably because it is alkaline that it serves so admir- ably as a stimulus to the stomach. The rationale of this we shall see by-and-by. Meanwhile, we may remember this, that in masti- cation food is both finely minced and ground down, and also thoroughly mixed with saliva. By this means it is not only moistened, in order that it may 156 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. easily and smoothly pass down the throat (and in this it is greatly assisted by the glairiness of the saliva), but also that, having descended, not too rapidly and in not too large mouthfuls, it may be in the best condition to call effectually upon the sto- mach to do its duty in bringing about the further changes that are necessary. In many animals, especially in those which live on meat only, and probably even in many that live on grain, this is the whole of the digestive process that belongs to the mouth. In these creatures the food is simply masticated, softened, moistened with saliva, and rolled up into balls, preparatory to the act of deglutition. But, in ourselves at least, another very important chemical action is superadded to these mechanical ones. A great part of our food consists of the material called starch. People who live sensibly because they are not rich enough to do otherwise, and people who, for other reasons, eat wisely, make starch, in one form or other, a very considerable element of their ordinary diet. When we call to mind that bread, potatoes, all farinaceous foods, and a great part even of green vegetables, consist very largely of starch, the truth of the statement we have just made becomes evident enough. DIGESTION. 157 Now starch is stored up by the forces of vegetable life in the tissues of plants, not, for the most part, at least, as a formless powder, which can easily be ground finer, or perhaps still more easily dissolved, but in the shape of little grains of a very peculiar FIG. 1. SLICE OF EAW POTATO, MAGNIFIED 200 DIAMETERS. Showing a vegetable cell, filled with a confused heap of starch cor- puscles of all sizes. One of the starch corpuscles is seen free at A. appearance when seen under the microscope, as is shown in Fig. 1. Various plants build up their starch granules or starch corpuscles in various ways, and an experienced 158 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. microscopist, by examining a specimen of starch, can tell whether it came from potatoes or wheat or rice. But in every case the starch exists in the form of these corpuscles, which are little masses with a stout elastic exterior; and from what we said at the begin- ning of this paper, it will be at once evident that these corpuscles must be broken up before they can pass into the real inside of the body. Generally they are broken up during the process of cooking. Under the action of boiling water, the envelopes of these corpuscles burst, and their contents become a sort of fluid. Every one knows that fresh unboiled starch, such as exists in arrowroot, stirred up with cold water, forms a milky fluid, from which, when it is left to rest, the starch settles down. The milkiness is due to the little starch corpuscles reflecting light. When the arrowroot is boiled, it becomes clear and transparent, because then the corpuscles burst, and their contents become a sort of fluid a sort of fluid, but not a perfect fluid. That stickiness which is the great characteristic of boiled starch, and one of its most useful properties, is just an evidence that the material of the starch corpuscle has not been com- pletely dissolved has not been converted into a per- fect fluid, capable like other fluids of passing through the walls of the alimentary canal into the blood. DIGESTION. 159 Unboiled starch, therefore, would, if let alone in the alimentary canal, be of no use as food the cor- puscles could not pass into the body. Nor would simple boiled starch be much better, because of its not being a perfect fluid. The destruction of the corpuscles as corpuscles we bring about by the art of cooking, and they who neglect this preparatory digestion, and eat large quantities of uncooked starch in the form of half-cooked potatoes and raw veget- ables, suffer for it by not digesting half of what they eat. But boiled starch is converted almost instantaneously (and unboiled starch too, though much more slowly, and with much greater labour) into a perfect fluid by the action of the saliva. Any one can satisfy himself of this by taking a mouthful of the thickest possible arrowroot. After rolling it once or twice round the mouth, it will at once be felt that it has become perfectly thin and limpid. This cannot be due to the mere warmth of the body, as arrowroot is thickened, or " made " as is said, by means of heat. An ab- solute change has taken place in it it is no longer starch, but sugar, and it is because it has become a mere solution of sugar that it is so thin and limpid. Saliva rapidly changes starch into sugar, and sugar is pre-eminently a soluble body, passing with the 160 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. greatest ease from the alimentary canal into the blood. There can be no doubt, that unless we eat with more than American rapidity, a great deal of the starch we consume is converted into sugar is di- gested, in fact, before it leaves the mouth, and is therefore ready to be absorbed, as it is said that is, to pass from the courtyard into the inner chambers of the inn without any further change. So far as we know, the food suffers no other treatment in the mouth than the kinds we have spoken of, and we will therefore next proceed to consider the changes which take place in the sto- mach. Many persons do not exactly know where their stomach is, and a still larger number are apt to for- get that it lies very close underneath the heart. So close to the heart is it, that it may, or rather very often does, when unduly distended with food or with gas, press upon or embarrass that important organ. This trouble is, of course, all the more likely to occur when the heart is enlarged; and if, as often is the case, that enlargement be accompanied by weak- ness, it becomes a matter of anxious care not to load the stomach with too much at one time. The outline of the stomach is pictured in Fig. 2. DIGESTION. 161 We may roughly indicate its position in the body by saying that while the broad end lies underneath the left-hand waistcoat pocket, the narrow end stretches into the middle line beneath the lower end of the breast-bone, in the region popularly called the pit of the stomach. FIG. 2. d OUTLINE OF THE HUMAN STOMACH, ONE-FIFTH THE NATURAL SIZE. a. The entrance of the oesophagus. &. The pyloric orifice leading to the intestines, c. The lesser curvature, d. The greater curvature, e. The cardiac end. f. Intestinal end. It will not escape notice that the food in passing down from the mouth by the oesophagus, or gullet, would fall upon the lower surface of the stomach. If left entirely to the force of its own gravity, the food would have a tendency to remain and gather together in a heap there instead of passing on to VOL. i. M 1 62 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE, the further portions of the alimentary canal. In order to prevent this, and at the same time to pro- duce other salutary effects, the stomach is gifted with a remarkable structure. Its general form is that of an elongated sac with two openings, but it is essentially a double sac is made up of an outer sac lined by an inner sac. The outer sac is a mus- cular sac, and has a mechanical duty to perform ; the inner sac is a glandular sac, and its office is a chemical one. Both sacs are joined loosely to- gether; and there is yet a third sac a sort of smooth coat covering the muscular one; but this is really an internal skin, and bears about the same relation to the muscular walls of the stomach as our skin, properly so called, does to the muscles of our limbs and body; and we need not pay much attention to it. The muscular sac is represented with this skin taken off in Fig. 3. It is composed of a number of muscular fibres, not exactly identical with the mus- cular fibres which make up the mass of the flesh of our bodies either in structure or function, but still similar to them. These fibres are arranged in bands and layers, which pass over the stomach in various directions, as is shown in Fig. 3. Like all muscular fibres, they have the power of shortening or con- DIGESTION. 163 tracting from time to time; and they shorten or con- tract, not, like the muscles of the limbs, sharply and spasmodically, but slowly and deliberately. Their action might be imitated by slowly squeezing a bladder or india-rubber ball half-filled with water, FIG. 3. ARRANGEMENT 07 THE MUSCULAR FIBRES OF THE STOMACH. The regions marked A, B, c represent fibres as seen at different depths. gradually tightening and rela^ig the grasp while the hand is shifted from one part of the bladder to another. The effect of this would be to cause a movement of the contents of the bladder. By help of the particular arrangement of the fibres, this movement takes place in an orderly fashion, and the 164 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. food courses regularly round and round the stomach. In fact, the mechanical sac churns the food within it. While the food is thus being continually moved about, it is at the same time subjected to the action of the chemical sac. This is, as we hare said, a glandular sac. It is of some thickness, and is made FIG. 4. TJPPEE POETIONS OF THKEE GASTKIC GLANDS, MAGNIFIED. a. The mouth of the gland. 6. The inert cells lining the mouth. c. The active peptic cells. of little glands bound up together with that stringy fibrous packing material which is found in all parts of the body, and which anatomists call connective tissue. If we were to imagine many gross of small india- rubber phials all placed side by side, and bound to- gether with hay or straw into a great mat, and the DIGESTION. 165 mat rolled up into a sac, with all the mouths of the phials turned inwards, we should have a large and coarse, but tolerably fair image of the glandular coat of the stomach. Each phial would then represent one of the glands of this coat, one of the gastric or peptic glands, as they are called. Each gland, however, is not always a simple tube, but is often branched at the bottom end, and all of them are lined, except just at their mouths, with large rounded bodies, which not unfrequently almost choke up their cavity. Fig. 4 represents the mouths of three of these gastric glands; Fig. 5, the other ends of three others; and Fig. 6, a branched gland. The rounded masses, or cells as they are called, in the interior of each gland, form the really active part of the apparatus. Each cell is a little laboratory, which concocts out of the material brought to it or near it by the blood a certain potent, biting fluid, and is hence called a peptic or digestive cell. Each cell is born at the bottom of the tube, and in process of time travels upwards towards the mouth. When it reaches the mouth, it bursts, and pours into the stomach the fluid it has elaborated, or perhaps may give it out without bursting, while it is still within its tube. In those cases in which it has been possible to look in upon the stomach while at work (as in the famous 1 66 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. case of the Canadian who received a wound in the side, penetrating the stomach, which never thoroughly FIG. 5. LOWER POETIONS OF THEEE GASTRIC GLANDS, MAGNIFIED. One is filled with peptic cells ; another is nearly empty ; the third is simply a membranous tube, which has lost all its cells. At b are seen several of the peptic cells more highly magnified. healed, and thus left a hole from the outside into that organ), and where the orifices of the tiny glands (for, DIGESTION. 167 though we have compared them to bottles, they are exceedingly small) appear like little dots, tears were seen to start at the mouths of the glands, gather into drops, and finally trickle down into the lowest part of FIG. 6. ..I BEANCHED GASTRIC GLAND. a. The peptic cells. 6. The inert cells. the stomach. The stomach, as it were, weeps; and indeed the weeping of tears is just such another effect of glandular activity only ordinary tears form a mild 168 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. and, chemically speaking, impotent fluid; while the fluid which the tears of the stomach form the gastric juice, as it is called is a sharp piercing water of ex- cessive chemical power. It is by the solvent action of this gastric juice, very materially assisted by the churning action of the muscular coat, that the food suffers those changes which make up what is called gastric digestion. We have spoken of the gastric juice (which, when obtained in a pure state, is a clear or nearly clear watery-looking fluid, often, however, mixed with thick viscid mucus) as a sharp fluid. It is not only sharp and somewhat bitter to the taste, but also most dis- tinctly acid, and in this point differs most decidedly from saliva. Its action, too, is very different from that of saliva. We have seen that saliva dissolves starch; gastric juice not only has no action on starch, but actually prevents saliva from so acting, so that the change of starch into sugar, which began in the mouth, is arrested as soon as the food reaches the stomach. But gastric juice has an intense effect on other ele- ments of food, against which saliva is powerless. Every joint of meat is made up of fat, bone, gristle, and the material which forms the great mass of the meat or flesh properly so called. Now this meaty material is met with, under the names of nitrogenous or albuminoid DIGESTION. 169 or proteid substances, not only in meat and eggs and other articles of animal food, but also in almost all vegetable foods. The gluten of wheat is such a sub- stance. Potatoes, rice, and greens, all contain some of it. The curd of milk is a proteid body, so is the basis of cheese, some of it even clings to butter. In fact, in nearly every article of food, certainly in every meal, it is a prime factor. Now, in its natural state, either in the solid form of meat and muscular fibre, or in the more liquid glairy form of unboiled white of egg (in which latter it exists naturally in almost its purest form), proteid matter has a great objection to being soluble, a very great repug- nance to passing through the walls of the alimentary canal into the real interior of the body. In order to make it pass, it has to be thoroughly dissolved, and this thorough solution is very easily effected by gastric juice. Even out of the body it will readily reduce first into a pulpy mass, and then into a limpid fluid, pieces of meat or boiled egg, especially when the mixture is warmed up to the temperature of the body, and fre- quently shaken. And inside the body the change is effected with much greater rapidity. It may be urged that unboiled white of egg is itself a fluid, but its ropiness is a distinct evidence of its want of perfect fluidity, and, as every one knows, it 1 70 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL -USE. becomes a perfect solid when boiled. Very different from ordinary white of egg is the fluid which is pro- duced when either boiled or unboiled white of egg has been for some time digested. This fluid does not be- come solid, does not coagulate, as is said, even when boiled ever so long. Moreover, if unboiled white of egg is put into a bladder, and the bladder, after being tightly tied up, sunk in water, little or none of the albuminous part of the white of egg will pass through the walls of the bladder into the water. But digested white of egg similarly treated will pass with the great- est ease. So much more fluid, so much more movable and slippery in its atoms and molecules, is the digested proteid. This is briefly the whole duty of gastric juice, the sole work of the glandular coat of the stomach. By it starch and fat are very little if at all affected, but it pounces on all proteids, and, assisted by the churn- ing action of its muscular coating, bites and gnaws away at them as they are careering round the stomach. Under its action, the fragments broken by the teeth are softened, and break up into still smaller pieces. The small pieces melt away into a perfect fluid, and thus become capable of passing through the fine in- visible pores both of the delicate membranes which form the framework of the glandular tubes, and of DIGESTION. 171 the equally delicate walls of the blood-vessels, which wrap round those tubes like a network of fine threads round an india-rubber bottle. In this way the digested matters are drawn off into the blood, and become part and parcel of the fluid stuffs of the body proper. The bones and gristle are broken up and dissolved in some such way as the proteids; but the starch and fat, and such fragments of meat, skin, and other mat- ters, as escape the action of the juice, are ready to be passed on, by the grasping, pushing squeeze of the muscular coat, to the other districts of the digestive tract, where further ordeals and other changes await them. Such is the process of digestion in the stomach ; but, unfortunately, it is often accompanied by another pro- cess called indigestion. The causes and kinds of in- digestion are legion, but they may be thrown into two classes. In the first place, the secreting glands may be seri- ously damaged and permanently impaired. Under rough treatment, they get worn out. They wither up their rounded cells shrink and waste ; their mouths get blocked up with adventitious material, or tightened and closed with bands of misplaced tissue. In these cases there is little help, save by artificial digestion and by careful economy of the waning powers of the i;2 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. organ; and their occurrence is a warning against the cruel and careless treatment of such tender structures. When it is remembered that the tears which flow into the eyes when dust or any foreign matter gets into them, are but an image of the tears of a sensitive stomach, which weeps gastric juice whenever it is touched, it will be readily understood what havoc is played when neat brandy, hot peppers, and a host of stinging, biting, and cutting condiments are recklessly poured into its exquisitely sensitive cavity. All these things act, and are used because they act, as so many goads or stimuli to the gastric glands, and for that reason the wisdom of using them lies entirely in the measure in which they are used. No organ in the body will work unless it is called upon to work; but no organ will stand being exercised beyond the limit of work which is natural to it. A horse may go all the better for a little whip, but the best horse in the world would soon break down under continued and laboured thrashing. Unhappily, we flog our sto- machs even more than we do our horses, not because we want them to go, but because we find we can't get them to go; and, for the sake of temporary success, sow the seeds of future permanent failure. The other and more common forms of dyspepsia are of a more temporary nature, and, at the present DIGESTION. 173 day, come about, for the most part, in an indirect way. These gastric glands, for instance, like all other parts of the frame, require themselves to be nourished; and when the body wastes, either from complete or partial starvation, or from some enemy, in the shape of disease, robbing the tissues of all the goodness of the food that is brought to them by the stomach, they, in common with all other parts and organs, grow weak. They flag in their work, the juice they prepare is thin and powerless, and, the more they want nourishment, the less are they able to digest and accumulate nutritious material for themselves or for the body at large. Hence, to a starving seamstress, or to a patient recovering from fever much as they need food food is a burden, and must be doled out to them little by little and in the most digestible form. The glands, also, like other parts of the body, are subject to the influence of the nervous system; and, by means of that system, are placed en rapport and sympathise with other parts of the body. A subtle influence, carried along certain nerves, may paralyse these glands, stop their work, and dry up the stomach, just as similar influences dry up the mouth through stoppage of the flow of saliva. Every one knows how fear, anxiety, or pain, so check all saliva, that the tongue 174 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. cleaves to the roof of the mouth; in such cases, starch may be held in the mouth without undergoing any change into sugar. No digestion in the mouth goes on. And just the same takes place in the stomach. A man goes to dinner with his mind full of fears, anxieties, and troubling thoughts. His stomach is dry his gastric glands are stopped in their work, as by fright and the meal lies a heavy, unchanged, undi- gested lump, in a powerless cavity. Or, on the other hand, something indigestible some- thing unsuitable is eaten, and the glands resent the insult. They strike work. They are made and con- structed to digest certain things; and, if they are solicited to undertake duties not in their business, they refuse. In all these cases of temporary indigestion, the means of remedy are threefold. The first is, especially in cases of indigestion from want of power, or from ill-directed and ill-timed nervous action, to give the stomach as light and as digestible food as possible. The more frequently it is given, the sooner will the frame, if it receives the nourishment kindly, recover its power; but it must not be given too frequently, for these glands require times of rest like every other part of the body. Secondly, one may administer to the body food already DIGESTION. 175 digested artificially digested. This is a means of treatment which as yet has hardly received any great practical extension; but it seems to promise a great deal. It is very easy to digest artificially a large quantity of meat; and by this means a quantity of palatable fluid capable of passing at once as digested nourishment into the blood without troubling the gastric glands at all, might be prepared. Probably in a few years this will be largely done. Lastly, we may create a sort of artificial gastric juice. We said that gastric juice was a biting, sharp liquid. It owes its power, partly to its being acid, and partly to its containing a peculiar active matter called pepsin, which is really a sort of ferment. Acids alone will not dissolve meat, or dissolve it very very slowly. Pepsin, by itself, does not act on meat at all; but pepsin and acid together will, sooner or later, dissolve up all the proteids that are presented to them. Hence, if we give a flagging stomach both acid and pepsin, we give it the means of carrying on digestion without having recourse to its own capital of strength. Under the idea that there is always enough acid in the stomach, pepsin (or a mixture of various things, con- taining actual pepsin among others, and sold under the name of pepsin) is frequently given as a medicine. And under the idea (which is much nearer the truth) 1 76 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. that in ordinary stomachs the great want is not pepsin, but proper acid, this latter is frequently given alone, with great benefit. But in giving these things, we must remember how sensitive and touchy the stomach is. Very frequently when we offer a stomach additional acid it is offended, and ceases to secrete even the small quantity it was pouring out before. On the other hand, by the com- mon physiological law that things act as stimuli because they are unlike, strange, and foreign to the bodies to which they are presented, the presence of an alkali spurs the stomach on to pour out more acid, and hence, even for the production of acid, a little gentle alkali is the best stomachic ; and perhaps the best stimulus of all is the alkaline saliva. But the due and careful administration of these artificial aids to digestion be- longs rather to the medical art than to popular phy- siology. VII. THE SKIN. CORPULENCE. THE skin is a complex structure, which forms a cover- ing to the outer surface of the body, and protects the deeper and more vital parts. It is the chief seat of the sense of touch, and has also other most important offices to discharge. At the various orifices, the nostrils, mouth, etc., it is continuous with the membrane which lines the internal parts, the mucous membrane as it is called. At these places there is no sudden change from skin to mucous membrane, but a gradual transi- tion from the one to the other. And the structure of the mucous membrane is very similar to that of the skin, being modified chiefly by the fact that it is not constantly exposed to the air. Hence, when for some reason or other a portion of the mucous membrane comes to the surface, its features are altered, and it gradually assumes the character of skin; and if a portion of skin occupies an internal position, it in turn becomes converted into mucous membrane. The physician has many opportunities of observing the close connection which subsists between these two struc- VOL. I. N 178 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. tures. Thus it often happens that a derangement of the mucous membrane gives rise to a disease of the skin, or that when an affection of one of them sub- sides, disease is lighted up in the other. It is well known, too, that medicines which act specially upon the one generally act upon the other also. Thus, there is no medicine which is so frequently used, nor so frequently abused, as arsenic in the treatment of skin diseases, a remedy which often requires to be stopped owing to its action upon the mucous membrane of the lungs. The skin is composed of two layers, the scarf skin or cuticle (epidermis), which forms a covering and protection to the deeper-seated and sensitive parts; and the sensitive skin or true skin (cutist vera), which contains blood-vessels and nerves and little glands, and which differs very materially from the other, not only in its structure, but also in its functions. The deep- est layers of the sensitive skin consist of a loose net- work of what is termed connective tissue, that is, very minute fibres which are gathered into bundles and cross one another in all directions, leaving little spaces, which, however, are not empty, but filled more or less completely with masses of fat. (Fig. 1, c.) It is this accumulation of fat which imparts that softness and smoothness to the skin which constitutes THE SKIN. CORPULENCE. 179 one of the greatest beauties of youth; and it is to its diminution that the furrows and wrinkles of age are in great measure to be attributed. For this reason it FIG. l. tf- rERI EXDICXTLAR SECTION THROUGH THE SKIN OF THE BALL OF THE THCME. a. Scarf skin, b', V. The two layers of the sensitive skin. c. Masses of fat. d. Papillje of skin. e. Sweat glands. /. Their ducts, g. Opening of the ducts upon the surface. is that these are almost absent in persons who, al- though advanced in years, are more or less corpulent. The deepest layer of the skin is of great import- i8o PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. ance, too, in so far as it forms a soft elastic cushion, the yielding of which allows a certain degree of move- ment to the upper layers, and prevents or diminishes the liability of these parts to be injured by pressure or violence. Were it not for this provision, it would probably be impossible for the soles of the feet to bear for any length of time the whole weight of the body, for the - horseman long to maintain his seat upon the saddle, or for the mechanic to bear the pressure of his tools upon the palm of his hand. The quantity of fat accumulated in the subcutaneous cellular tissue, as it is called, varies extremely in dif- ferent parts of the body, as well as in different persons. Thus it is usually abundant over the stomach, and scanty on the head, back of the hands, top of the feet, etc. The excessive accumulation of fat beneath the skin constitutes what is termed corpulence or obesity. But it must not be supposed that in such cases the de- posit is limited to this situation; for it is found also in great abundance in internal parts; and although in the former situation it strikes the eye, and seems to the uninitiated the most important element of the disease, for disease it must be called, in the latter it gives rise to much more inconvenience ; nay, even in THE SKIN CORPULENCE. 181 some cases to very serious results, for it not only renders the subject of it painfully large and unwieldy, and diminishes very materially the power, and there- fore the inclination, for exertion, but it also presses upon, and interferes with the functions of, the inward parts; thus, its undue accumulation in what is popu- larly called the stomach (but technically the abdomen), by pressure upwards, prevents the free action of the heart and lungs, and leads, among other evils, to shortness of breath; while its deposit about the heart itself still further interrupts its functions, and may even paralyse it altogether. While, no doubt, the tendency to obesity is inherent in some constitutions, and in part is hereditary, a great deal of it is generally to be attributed to the habits of the individual; for let a man who is predisposed to fatness, sleep much, walk little, drink freely, especially fermented liquors, such as ale, porter, and cider, and eat like a glutton, especially indulging in large quan- tities of fatty articles of diet, or of sweet things which in the system are converted into fat, or of food contain- ing much starch, such as potatoes, which is converted into sugar and then into fat, and obesity is the natural result. Hence there is a good deal of truth, but not the whole truth, in the remark that the cure of fatness 1 82 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. consists in keeping the eyes open, the mouth shut, and the legs in motion. For, of the innumerable in- stances in which persons have attempted to reduce themselves by early hours, active exercise, and a diet approaching to starvation, failure has been the almost inevitable result. The secret of success lies in the abstinence from fatty articles of diet, and from food rich in starch or sugar. This has long been known, though too little recognised by the medical profession. But, it should be remembered, the sudden adoption of such a regimen is not without danger ; many lamentable instances of which have of late years come under the notice of medical men. For, while it is wonderful how the system accommodates itself to altered circum- stances, the change must be gradual, or the revulsion will lead to disease. It is partly on this principle that the removal of the leg of a person who has been re- cently injured in the midst of health, is much more likely to lead to fatal results than when the operation is performed in consequence of old standing disease. But we must leave the subcutaneous cellular tissue, * which is the deepest layer of the sensitive skin, and inquire for a moment into the nature of its superficial layer, or corium, as it is called. The latter, like the former, is principally composed of connective tissue, with this difference, that the fibres are much more THE SKIN. CORPULENCE. 183 closely interwoven, so that there are no intervals filled with fat, and accordingly it is a much denser and less yielding structure than the subcutaneous cellular tis- sue. Its upper surface is not smooth, but marked by innumerable minute prominences, the "papillae" of the skin, which are very important structures. It is freely supplied with blood-vessels and nerves, hence the pain and bleeding which result when it is pricked; and each of the papillaa is furnished with a minute blood-vessel or nerve, or both. Those upon the inner surface of the hands and fingers, and also upon the feet, are arranged in double rows, and accordingly, on examining these parts, since the scarf skin takes on the impression of the papillaa, innumerable little curved lines are seen separated from each other by minute depressions. It is in the papilla3, and especially in those to which nervous filaments are distributed, that the sense of touch mainly resides. In most situations, and especially where there are hairs, the sensitive skin is furnished with very minute muscles (or sinews as they are popularly called), which are attached to the roots of the hairs, or of the oil glands, to which we shall refer shortly. The contrac- tion of these muscles has the effect of rendering the hairs more prominent, of making them " stand on end" under the influence of fright, and it is also the 1 84 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. cause of that roughness of the skin which is observed under the influence of cold and the like, and which is termed goose-sldn. All persons are familiar with the blisters, as they are improperly called, which are raised by the sting of the nettle; and too many are acquainted with a similar eruption which resembles the sting of the nettle, and which is therefore termed nettle-rash. Now it has been found very dim cult to explain this peculiar appearance, owing to the suddenness with which it conies and the rapidity with which it goes ; but it appears to the writer that if we attribute it to a spasmodic contraction of the muscles of the skin, not only may the appearance which it presents, but also the suddenness of its rise and fall, be satisfactorily accounted for. We have seen that the sensitive skin is composed almost exclusively of fibres, and contains innumerable little blood-vessels and nerves; whereas the scarf skin, which forms a covering to the former, contains neither fibres, blood-vessels, nor nerves, but is almost entirely made up of an endless number of little plates or scales (epithelial scales), which are soldered together so as to form a uniform, structure. (Fig. 2.) The plates composing the upper layer are quite flattened, very closely packed, and to a certain extent, especially in THE SKIN, CORPULENCE. 185 some situations, almost horny in consistence, so as to give protection to the deeper-seated sensitive parts ; while the cells composing the lower layer are arranged more loosely, and instead of lying flat have a vertical direction. The under surface of the scarf skin is not smooth, but marked by little depressions, into which the papillge of the sensitive skin fit as the fingers into a glove. FIG. 2. SCALES OF WHICH THE SCAEF SKIN IS COMPOSED. The division of the skin into two layers is justified, not only from the marked differences which they present structurally, but also from the fact that, although closely united, they are not inseparable. Most of our readers must have seen, either on their own persons or on those of their friends, the effects of a common blister. The skin is said to rise, and a quantity of fluid, derived from the blood, accumulates beneath. But it is not the skin, only the scarf skin, which is thus raised out of its bed, and separated from the parts beneath. And ac- 1 86 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. cordingly, when the blister is cut [that is, the scarf skin removed] and the fluid escapes, the patient complains of pain, which is the natural result of the exposure to the air of the upper layer of the sensitive skin. The scarf skin, like the rest of the body, is con- tinually undergoing change and decomposition. New plates or scales are being constantly formed at the point where the scarf skin and sensitive skin meet, while the old scales are in like measure thrown off from the surface. In a state of health this takes place so slowly, so regularly, and so methodically, that it is not perceived ; but it is far otherwise if inflammation attacks the skin. Although the scarf skin contains neither blood-vessels nor nerves, it is endowed with life, and when inflammation attacks it the scales die in great numbers, and are thrown off from the surface to such an extent that they attract attention ; and this excessive fall of scales is termed desquamation. This is well illustrated by the peeling off of the skin which follows all attacks of scarlet fever in which the eruption has been distinct. Most persons, too, are familiar with what is popularly termed scurf of the head, and which follows even slight inflammation of the scalp, resulting from impairment of the general health, or the like. The use of soaps is governed more by scientific principles than is generally believed ; for all soaps con- THE SKIN. CORPULENCE. 187 tain an alkali (usually soda), while the scarf skin is chiefly composed of albumen, a substance which is readily acted upon by alkalies. The soap thus softens, dissolves, and removes the superficial layers of the scarf skin, and with them the dirt which has accumulated. Much ignorance prevails amongst the public as to the use of soap and water. It is possible to carry every- thing to excess, and physicians occasionally witness a superficial irritation of the hands and face, as the result of the too frequent use of soap and water, or of water alone. Those who have very sensitive skins should use soft water, for the face at all events ; and the best water, if it can be had, is rain water with the cold taken off it. Nor is it every kind of soap which is tolerated by such persons. Thus, what is called black soap is one of the most irritating of all ; while probably the safest soaps are, not those which are said to contain, but those which really do contain, a large proportion of glycerine. In an interesting article, entitled " Longevity and Centenarianism," in the Quarterly Review, the following remarks occur : " Records and experience concur in furnishing cases of great tenacity of life under the most directly opposite conditions. Men have lived beyond a hundred years without walking more than a hundred yards a day, from house to office and back. No ! it 188 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. depends not on exercise, nor yet, if we dare breathe it in an age wholly given to ' tubbing/ on frequent ablutions or strict cleanliness. Witness 'Lady Lewson/ to whose peculiar views on this topic a cutting short of her days cannot be objected. Witness Elizabeth Durieux, a woman of Savoy, whom a writer in Notes and Queries saw when she was 119 years old, bony, large- limbed, wrinkled, and very dirty." Witness, as a nation, the Icelanders, of whom a Quarterly Eeviewer says that " though very uncleanly, and suffering much from skin diseases, and leprosy particularly, their average longevity exceeds that of the continental nations of Europe." Are we, then, to infer from the preceding remarks, that cleanliness is injurious to health ? It is almost unnecessary to answer in the negative, for the cases alluded to are undoubtedly exceptional; the longevity, owing to peculiarities of constitution, climate, and the like, being attained in spite of dirtiness of habits. The irritation of the skin, too, which sometimes follows the use of soap and water, is due, not to regular and sys- tematic, but to constant and excessive, ablution. It must never be forgotten that the body is constantly changing, the old tissues being replaced by new ones, and one of the most important functions of the skin is to assist in the removal of the effete matter from the system. If, however, strict cleanliness is not observed, THE SKIN. CORPULENCE. 189 the pores of the skin, through which this is accom- plished, become choked rip, and the evil result in the long run to the general health cannot be doubted. The account of the scarf skin -would be imperfect were we to omit allusion to those innumerable little coloured particles (pigment granules) which lie em- bedded in the cells of its deepest layer, and to which the variations in the tint of different skins is due. Most of our readers have probably at some time or other seen an albino ; that is, a person with colourless skin, white hair, and red eyes. Now this peculiar and strik- ing appearance is entirely dependent upon the fact that the skin and other structures are devoid of the usual pigment granules. This condition is observed at birth and continues throughout life, but no satisfactory ex- planation can be given of the reason for its occurrence. Again, the dark colour of the brunette, as compared with the blonde, is due to the darker colour of the pigment in the former, as compared with the latter; while the colour of the negro is owing to the pigment granules being nearly black. Some persons are born with brown patches on different parts of the body moles, as they are called; while others exhibit a pecu- liar distribution of the pigment of the skin, that is to say, it is altogether absent at some parts, while at others it is excessive, so that patches of colourless skin are igo PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. surrounded by others of a dark colour, and if the head is implicated in the disease, the hair proceeding from the colourless parts is white. This deformity, which is termed vitiligo, is sufficiently striking amongst the white races ; but in the negro the appearance, as may be imagined, is exceedingly remarkable, and he is commonly called a pied-negro. The late Dr. Addison was the first to direct attention to a peculiar discolouration of the skin occurring in connection with disease of an internal organ,* and called Addison's disease in honour of its discoverer. This discolouration is dependent upon the deposit in the skin of an excessive quantity of pigment, and may implicate only portions of the skin, or the whole of it, in which case the patient resembles a mulatto, or a bronze statue the gloss of which has been removed. The occurrence of this discolouration in connection with an internal malady is worth noting, as being a good illustration of that sympathy which, through the in- fluence of the nervous system, exists between organs remote from one another. Light and heat, and especially the latter, have a powerful influence upon the deposit of pigment ; * Of certain little bodies attached to the kidneys, and called the " supra-renal capsules." THE SKIN. CORPULENCE. 191 indeed, it is favoured by anything which tends to increase the amount of blood in the skin; hence the brown colour of the exposed parts in some persons during the summer months, and the freckles which disfigure the face so much in others. And most persons must have observed the brown mark which is sometimes left after powerful stimulation of the skin, as for ex- ample after the application of a mustard poultice or a blister, and which is dependent upon the same cause. The nails are mere modifications of the scarf skin, their horny appearance and feeling being due to the fact that the scales or plates of which they are composed are much harder and more closely packed. The root of the nail lies embedded, to the extent of about the twelfth part of an inch, in a fold of the sensitive skin, and as may be observed from an inspection of the part, the scarf skin is not exactly continuous with the nail, but projects a little above it, forming a narrow margin. (Fig. 3.) The nail, like the scarf skin, rests upon, and is in- timately connected with, a structure almost identical with the sensitive skin; this is, however, thrown into ridges, which run parallel to one another, except at the back part, where they radiate from the centre of the root. (Fig. 4.) On examining the surface of the nail, a semicircular whitish portion is detected near its root. 192 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. which is dependent upon the fact that the ridges there contain fewer blood-vessels, and therefore less blood, FIG. 3. SECTION THEOUGH THE NAIL AND ITS BED, ALONG THE FINGEB. a. Boot of nail. b. Body of nail. c. Free end of nail. d. Skin of tip of finger, e. Skin of back of finger. /. Scarf skin on upper surface of nail at its root, g, h. Bed of nail. and on account of its half-moon shape it is called the lunula. The nail is constantly increasing in length owing FIG. 4. SECTION OF THE NAIL AND ITS BED, ACROSS. a. Nail. 6. Its bed. c. The skin overlapping the nail at the sides. to the formation 'of new cells at the root, which push THE SKIN. CORPULENCE. 193 it forwards, while the increase in its thickness is due to the secretion of new cells from the sensitive layer beneath, so that the farther the nail grows from the root, the thicker it becomes. Its nutrition, and con- sequently its growth, suffers in disease, the portion growing during disease being thinner than that growing in health ; and accordingly a transverse groove is seen upon the nail, corresponding to the time of an illness. It will thus be seen that by a mere examination of the nail we can astonish our friends by telling them when they have been ill ; and .it has been estimated that the nail of the thumb grows from its root to its free extremity in five months, that of the great toe in twenty months, so that a transverse groove in the middle of the former indicates an illness about two and a half months before, and in the middle of the latter, about ten months. The culture of the nails, which when perfect con- stitute so great a beauty, although their neglect is not so deleterious as in the case of the skin, is of much importance ; but the tendency is to injure them by too much attention. The scissors should never be used except to pare the free edges when they have become ragged or too long, and the folds of scarf skin which overlap the roots should not, as a rule, be touched, unless they be frayed, when the torn -edges may be snipped off, so as to prevent their being torn further, VOL. i. o 194 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. which may cause much pain, and even inflammation. The upper surfaces of the nails should on no account be touched with the knife, as is so often done, the nail brush being amply sufficient to keep them clean, without impairing their smooth and polished surfaces. In the feet, the nails or their beds are often the seats of disease, much of which is due to the use of ill-fitting and especially tight shoes as, for example, in the case of the so-called " ingrowing toe-nails," while ulceration beneath the nail is a very common and exceedingly painful affection, for the cure of which it is often necessary to remove it altogether ; for the nail presses upon and irritates the sore beneath, and prevents it from healing. In some cases, too, a low form of veget- able life takes root, grows between the nail and its root, and injures it very much, or even causes it to fall off. There are many others diseases of these parts, to which, however, our space will not permit us to refer. On all parts of the body provided with hair, the skin is the seat of innumerable minute depressions (hair-sacs), from which the hair grows. (Fig. 5.) At the bottom of each sac is a little elevation, termed the papilla, which is almost identical in structure with the papillas of the skin, to which we have already re- ferred. It is from the papilla that the hair draws its nourishment, and from which the new hair grows THE SKIN. CORPULENCE. '95 when the old one has fallen out or been extracted. There is a very common belief, which is shared by many FIG. 5. HAIR AND HAIK-SAC. a. Hair shaft. 6. Boot of the hah-, c. Bulb of the hair. d. Hair-sac. i. Papilla of hair. e. Reflection inwards of the skin at the aperture of the hair-sacs, k. Ducts of the sebaceous glands. medical men, that if the hair is extracted it will never 196 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. \ grow again. Were such the case, it would certainly be a great boon to those who are troubled with super- fluous hair. But, unfortunately for them, not only does the hair reappear after extraction, but it tends to grow stronger than before, and, within certain limits, the oftener the operation is repeated, the greater is its strength and luxuriance. The reason of this is obvious. The extraction of the hair irritates the papilla, and causes a rush of blood to it, so that extra nutriment is pro- vided for the growth of the succeeding hair. An examination of the hair with the microscope reveals to us the fact that it is chiefly composed of fibres, closely packed together, and that each is en- veloped in a thin skin or cuticle, composed of square- shaped cells, while' many of the hairs the white and coarse ones in particular are marked by a central streak, called the medulla, corresponding to the pith in the stems of plants, and which is also composed of cells. Scattered here and there over the hair, a number of dark streaks and spots are usually to be seen, com- posed partly of air-cells, but principally of pigment, such as we find in the skin itself; and it is to the varying quantity and tint of this pigment that the differences in colour of the hair in different persons, and on different parts of the body, are mainly to be attributed. We know that the hair has a tendency THE SKIN. CORPULENCE. 197 to vary in colour at different periods of life ; that it is darker, as a rule, in the adult than in the infant, and that its silver-grey colour is one of the ornaments of age, although some persons are foolish enough, from a desire to appear younger than they really are, to disfigure themselves by the use of wigs, which are both unseemly and unsuitable. The source of these changes is to be found in the increasing quantity and deepening colour of the pigment granules as adult life is approached, and in its diminution and ultimate dis- appearance in old age. Most of our readers have pro- bably heard of cases in which, under the influence of violent emotion, such as sudden fear or intense grief, the hair has turned grey in a single night, but much scepticism exists as to the possibility of such an occur- rence. While, however, such cases are certainly rare, it is an undoubted fact that they do occur, and that they are not the mere offsprings of a lively imagination. And a very curious circumstance has been discovered with regard to them, namely, that the change of colour is not dependent upon the disappearance of the pigment of the hair, which can only take place slowly, but upon the sudden development in its interior of a number of air-bubbles, that hide and destroy the effect of the pigment, which remains unaltered. One or two such cases may be mentioned. 198 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. Ludwig Harenburg had long been intemperate in his habits, in consequence of which he was seized with delirium tremens. The delirium, as is usual in such cases, was of a very terrifying nature, and it was speci- ally noticed that the entrance into his room of any one who was unknown to him agitated him, and made him tremble from head to foot for two or three minutes. The delirium had lasted four days. On the evening of the fourth day the hair was unaltered, but on the morn- ing of the fifth the delirium had disappeared, and his hair, which previously was fair, had become grey. It was examined with the microscope, when it was found that the pigment was still present, but that the central streak of each was filled with air-bubbles. (Virchow's Archiv, 1866, p. 589.) A young Swiss, armed with a sabre, suspended himself over a precipice by means of a rope, in order to secure some young vultures in their nest. While in the act of taking them, he was attacked by the mother, and used his sabre freely to protect himself. When the encounter was over, on looking up he found that he had nearly severed the rope which supported him. He almost died of fear, for a yawning precipice was beneath him. Fortunately the rope was strong enough to support him, but by the time he reached the summit his hair had turned grey. THE SKIN. CORPULENCE. 199 One other case, which is related in a work by a celebrated physician, Daniel Turner, now no more, may be added. Don Diego Osorius, a Spaniard, of a noble family, being in love with a young lady of the Court, had prevailed with her for a private conference, under the shady boughs of a tree, within the garden of the King of Spain; but by the unfortunate barking of a little dog, their privacy was betrayed, the young gentle- man seized by some of the king's guard, and im- prisoned; it was a capital offence to be found in that place, and therefore he was condemned to die. He was so terrified at the hearing of his sentence, that one and the same night saw the same person young and old, his hair having been turned grey as in those stricken in years. The gaoler, moved at the sight, related the incident to King Ferdinand, as a prodigy, who thereupon pardoned him, saying he had been sufficiently punished for his fault. In a state of health, the hair, when it has grown to a certain length, falls out; but this shedding of the hair is such a slow process, that it produces no de- formity, and almost passes unobserved. It is far dif- ferent, however, when the health is reduced, as after a fever, for then it falls away in such abundance as to produce well-marked thinning of the hair, and to cause much uneasiness. Such a condition is not to 200 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. be neglected, partly because of the deformity which results, but mainly because it indicates that the general health is in an unsatisfactory state. Again, many persons must have seen cases in which the hair has a tendency to fall away in certain parts, leaving round bald patches ; and instances are known to the writer, of the successive implication of different portions of the hair, until not a single hair was left upon any part of the body. It is supposed by some that this disease is dependent upon a minute plant which eats away the hair; but the most recent investigations tend to show that it is not so, but that there is some peculiar alter- ation of the nerves of the affected portions of the skin. There are certain diseases of the hair, however, which are undoubtedly due to the implantation and germin- ation of minute fungi, of which we have a good illus- tration in the disease too well known under the name of ringworm of the head; and it is this circumstance which imparts to it its contagious quality. (Fig. 6.) This minute growth not only eats into the portion of hair which is above the surface, and causes it to break, but also finds its way into the root; and hence the difficulty of reaching it with remedial agents, and the obstinacy of the complaint in certain cases. The skin is provided with innumerable little glands, the sweat glands (or perspiratory glands), and the oil THE SKIN. CORPULENCE. 201 glands (sebaceous glands), as they are called. The former (Fig. 1, e,f) are little tubes, the walls of which FIG. 6. HAIE FROJI A CASE OF RINGWORM OF THE HEAD LOADED WITH AND BROKEN UP BY THE SPOKES OF A FUNGOUS GROWTH. 202 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. are similar in structure to the layers of which the skin is composed. The orifices of these glands, the pores of the skin, are oblique, because the little tubes in their passage through the scarf skin have a spiral form; in the sensitive skin they lose this spiral form in great measure, but terminate in little coils of tubing in its deepest layers. The whole length of each tube has been estimated at a quarter of an inch, and the whole number of tubes in an adult at more than two millions ; so that, if it were possible to place them end to end, they would reach to the extent of nearly ten miles. The perspiration is composed almost exclusively of water, of which more than two pounds are discharged in the day. This fact is sufficiently striking to warn persons of the danger of allowing the pores of the skin to be closed from want of cleanliness. In health, in a state of quiescence, the skin is com- paratively dry, for the moisture passes off in the shape of vapour as soon as it is discharged ; hence the term insensible perspiration has been applied to it. But when the circulation is unusually excited, under the influence of exertion or of heat, or when the patient is extremely weak, as in consumption, the little glands secrete pro- fusely, and the skin is moist; and to this the term sensible perspiration has been given. The secretion of these glands, like that of the other organs and tissues THE SKIN. CORPULENCE. 203 of the body, is under the influence of the nervous system; hence, in cases of violent emotion, such as sudden fear, we break into a profuse perspiration. Hence the sympathy which exists between the skin and the other excreting organs, there being a balance of function between them; so that, when the skin is secreting freely, the internal excretions are diminished, and vice versa. It must not, however, be supposed that the skin is an organ of excretion only, for it is endowed with a considerable amount of power of absorption. It is on this account that a certain degree of relief from thirst has been experienced by shipwrecked mariners from the immersion of their clothing in salt water; and that when physicians desire to keep the stomach at rest for a number of consecutive hours, they sometimes envelop the limbs in wet bandages. Many persons, too, are familiar with the application to the skin of a belladonna plaster for the relief of pain ; yet it is not generally know that the absorption of medicines by the skin has been carried to such an extent as to produce serious symptoms of poisoning. The scarf skin, however, very materially interferes with the process of absorption, and accordingly, when a speedy effect is desired, a portion of the cuticle is frequently removed by means of a blister, and medicines applied to the 204 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. raw surface of the sensitive skin, which absorbs them with great rapidity, so that much care is required in this mode of administering drugs. FIG. 7. SEBACEOUS GLAXDS FROM THE XOSE SURROUNDING (1) A HAIR-SAC. The oil glands are distributed over the greater por- tion of the skin, but they are far more abundant in hairy parts. The ducts of these glands are similar in structure to the tubes of the sweat glands, but they THE SKIN. CORPULENCE. 205 are broader, and most of them open into the hair-sacs instead of communicating directly with the surface. The little glands themselves vary very much in cha- racter, many of them being simple dilatations of the extremities df the ducts, while others are divided into several little sacs, as in the accompanying illustration (Fig. 7). These glands secrete an oily substance, thus ridding the system of certain nqxious elements, while at the same time the surface of the skin is protected from the air, and the injurious effects which might otherwise be expected to arise from the rubbing against one another of neighbouring folds of skin are pre- vented. An examination of the secretion squeezed out of the oil glands has proved that they often contain a minute parasite, which is supposed to serve some useful purpose, such as the stimulation of the glands, or the consump- tion of a portion of their secretion. At all events, they are found in persons whose health is perfect, and do not give rise to the slightest inconvenience; but it is by no means certain, as some have asserted, that they are to be found in the glands of all persons. It not unfrequently happens that the secretion hardens, accumulates in and distends the ducts, especially in the' faces of young persons; and as the secretion at the orifice of each attracts the particles of dust which 206 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. are floating about, a number of black specks are to be detected, which must be familiar to all our readers. And if a watch-key be pressed firmly against the skin, being so placed that the hollow of the key corresponds to one of the black specks, the secretion is tilted up and appears in the shape of a worm-like process, being an accurate mould of the duct from which it has been expressed. The prolonged retention of hardened se- baceous matter in the glands is very apt to irritate and inflame the surrounding parts, and to give rise to the disease called acne. Instead of the ducts of the glands, the glands them- selves may become distended with their secretion, and then, there being no contact of the secretion with the air, there are no black specks ; but the appearance presented is that of little pearly points, owing to the sebaceous matter shining through the distended skin. This is a condition often met with in the eyelids and face, and is termed milium by scientific men. Lastly, the secretion from the glands may be excessive may diffuse itself in undue quantity over the skin, and is very apt, especially on the head, to dry up into yellowish scales, such as we often see in infants, and to be mistaken for inflammation. For all these con- ditions, it is well to seek medical advice. VIII. THE BATH. THE SENSE OF TOUCH. IN the last chapter we gave a short account of the structure and general use of the skin, but there remain one or two points, more or less connected with this portion of our frame, which deserve a few further re- marks. Of these, we may take first the use and abuse of bathing. Bathing has two objects : to purify and to strengthen. These are intimately connected, since nothing tends more to enervate than contamination of the fluids which circulate within the body, and to remove super- fluous or worn-out substances is a direct way to im- part vigour to all the organs ; but it is not in this way alone that bathing strengthens. By virtue of the change of temperature a cold bath implies, it acts, as is well known, upon the nervous system, and calls out, in answer to the temporary abstraction of heat, a freer play of the general vital powers. Of the bath as designed for ordinary purposes of cleanliness, there need not much be said. The whole surface of the body should be daily washed; but the daily use of soap need not be considered necessary, 208 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. t except for those portions of the body which are spe- cially exposed. For the general surface the use of soap twice a week fulfills the demands of cleanliness, unless in special occupations. Warm water, as is well known, cleanses much more effectually than cold. The Turkish bath, lately re-introduced with high commendations into this country, has its chief use as a means of thorough cleansing. Not, indeed, that by it, as some of its too enthusiastic advocates have im- plied, every kind of morbid agent can be washed out of the blood. Diseases cannot be filtered away through the sweat-glands. Still, by the profuse perspiration which the high temperature induces, aided by the drinking of a few tumblers of water, a great deal of highly objectionable matter may be got rid of. Per- sons with weak hearts should be careful how they have recourse to the Turkish bath, although in some cases otherwise adapted, and under careful medical super- vision, persons suffering from confirmed heart-disease have derived the greatest benefit from its use. But for all other persons an occasional recourse to it is a legitimate luxury, and for some a decided advantage. The temperature of the heated air, however, should not exceed 150, except under medical advice, or after careful trial. If exhilaration and a feeling of increased lightness and proneness to exertion follow, benefit has THE BATH. THE SENSE OF TOUCH. 209 been gained; if lassitude and exhaustion, the bath is unsuitable, or its duration or temperature should be diminished. The free perspiration induced by the Turkish bath, judiciously taken, is in most cases beneficial ; but it should not be supposed that there is any special virtue ID. this particular means of inducing it. Active ex- ercise is a better one for all persons who can take it; and a walk or a game, which within the bounds of moderate fatigue produces a copious secretion from the skin, and on which no chill is allowed to super- vene, does fully as much to eliminate ill materials from the blood, as the most sedulous votary of the Turkish bath can attain. The latter, indeed, regarded as a means of health, may be looked upon most justly as a kind of substitute for bodily exertion, when this is unattainable through lack of strength or time a sub- stitute, that is, in this one respect, but by no means in all, for exercise does much more for us than merely carry off fluid through the skin. The Turkish bath accordingly is most suitable for those who, from unavoidable causes, are compelled to lead sedentary lives, especially if they suffer from want of sufficient activity of the secreting organs. To them it affords a partial supplement for more natural and effective sources of invigoration. It is useful also for VOL. i. p 210 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. those to whom the free use of cold water without previous warmth is too severe a shock, the high tem- perature drawing the blood freely to the surface of the body, and so preparing it to receive with advantage the cold affusion with which the "bath concludes. For the principle on which cold succeeds warmth in the Turkish bath and it is one which all bathers should bear in mind, as it determines whether the practice is beneficial or the reverse is this, that the circulation in the skin should be vigorous, and the temperature accordingly warm, so that its temporary depression from the cold may be followed by a vigorous reaction. This is, indeed, the criterion of the influence of a cold bath ; whether it leaves behind it a pleasant glow upon the surface, or a feeling of chilliness : if the former, it invigorates ; if the latter, it enfeebles. In this respect a great deal depends upon the time that is passed in the water. There are few persons who are not warmed by a single plunge; still fewer who are not chilled, and therefore injured, by a prolonged stay. On an average, three minutes should suffice, except for those who are inured to the practice, and unless the weather is very warm. For active swimming in the sea, ten minutes may be taken. The glow which follows a cold bath, is the chief secret of its tonic influence. It arises from the blood THE BATH. THE SENSE OF TOUCH. 211 returning in a larger stream to the surface, from which it had been partially banished; and it has these two good effects : it is a safeguard against chills, through the increased supply of blood to the external parts, and for the same reason it wards off internal conges- tions and other disturbances of the circulation. And besides this effect upon the blood-vessels, it adds another to those natural stimulants of the sensitive nerves, on which, as we have before observed, the healthy tone of the nervous system so much depends. All these good effects are much aided by vigorous friction with a flesh-brush or rough towel, applied as rapidly as may be. It is bad to let the surface continue wet after leaving the water. The best time for prolonged bathing is the forenoon, say two or three hours after breakfast ; but for a sim- ple plunge no time is better than immediately on rising. The skin is warm on quitting the bed, and in a good state to receive the shock. The cold bath should not follow immediately on a meal, because the blood should not then be drawn too strongly to the surface, it being required for the work of digestion. The question has been a good deal discussed, whether a cold bath should immediately follow a walk or other exercise ; and an opinion to the contrary has widely prevailed, backed by certain stories, which, however, 212 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. are probably incomplete in some of their details. Ac- cordingly it is much the custom after exercise to wait until the body becomes cool, before bathing; and in some schools it is made the business of a master to see that no boy enters the water in a state of perspira- tion. This opinion and practice, however, appear to be ill-founded. If evil effects have resulted from bath- ing after exertion, it has been not because the body was hot, but because its powers were exhausted by fatigue. Under such circumstances the danger of a cold bath is not diminished, but increased, by waiting until the heightened temperature has passed away. The power of reaction, from the weakness of which the danger arises, is thereby only rendered still more feeble. The proper rule is, that cold bathing should never be had recourse to after great fatigue, whether we be heated or not. but, under all circumstances, it is better to encounter it warm than cold; and there is no better preparation for it than a moderate walk, sufficient to induce a slightly heightened temperature. Thus employed, a daily cold bath is a safe tonic for almost all persons during the summer months, and tends especially to restore the appetite when it has been lost. Some persons of heroic mould persist in a cold plunge throughout the year, and regularly break the THE BATH. THE SENSE OF TOUCH, 213 ice whenever the frost is severe. Of this practice we can only say that it seems to be good for those who are strong enough to bear it, but such persons un- doubtedly are few. The luxury is attended with risks, and should never be persisted in if a feeling of warmth does not immediately succeed it. The shower bath has some advantages over the plunge ; the stimulus to the nerves of the skin is greater, the abstraction of heat somewhat less. It is useful, therefore, to certain nervous temperaments ; but some precautions are advisable if there is any lack of strength. It is a good plan, for instance, to stand in a pan of warm water to prevent the feet from being chilled, or in some cases to protect the head by an oil-skin cap. It is indeed often desirable not to apply cold water too freely to the head; and many persons who derive great advantage from cold bathing find it advisable to use tepid water for the head. This seems to be especially the case with those who are subject to great mental labour, and who sometimes increase the nervous distress to which they are subject by an un- wise use of cold water for its relief. But bathing the face with cold water is often a great refreshment during mental strain, and nothing calms the sleeplessness which results from excitement better than its free ap- plication to the face and neck. 214 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. It does not appear that washing the head with tepid instead of cold water, or the use of tepid baths, in- creases, as might perhaps have been thought likely, the liability to colds. As a rule, it may be said that water which, although tepid, is decidedly below the natural heat of the skin, so as to give a feeling of coldness, has a bracing that which feels warm, a re- laxing effect. The use first of warm and then of cold water has an excellent influence, and is admirably adapt- ed for those who are for the time too weak to bear cold alone; but they should succeed each other imme- diately, and the room should be warm. In bathing infants it is desirable to cover them all over with a shawl or flannel, and to wash them beneath it. With this precaution they may be washed without a fire in the coldest weather. And here appears a palpable defect in the bathing arrangements of most people. Till about four years old, children have a daily bath, then as a rule they go without it till the age of sixteen or so, when the wiser ones resume it again if they can. But what is desirable is, that the practice of daily bathing should be continued all through life ; which it doubtless would be if the necessary con- veniences existed. In every house there should be a bath supplied with hot and cold water available for every member. THE BATH.- THE SENSE OF TOUCH. 215 Warm baths should not be taken, except under medi- cal direction, oftener than about once a week. Yapour baths, also, are rather a remedy for disease than a means of health. There are many contrivances for giving them, of which the simplest is a hot brick placed in a bucket of water beneath a chair. It should be remembered, however, that such plans are not free from a risk of scalding. Passing now to the endowments of the skin as an organ of sensation, we cannot but notice their great variety. The skin is the seat of many senses rather than of one. The perception of heat and cold, for in- stance, is as different from the feeling of a solid body, as seeing is from tasting. Tickling, again, is a quite peculiar sensation; so also is the sensibility to pain, which resides in the healthy state chiefly on the surface. The reason for this heaping up of sensitive capacities in the skin, of course, is obvious in the fact that it is the medium through which we come directly into contact with external nature. All our other senses, may be for a time unexercised; but, save in sleep, the skin gives us incessant information. It takes part in all our actions, and furnishes guidance in the attainment of every end. Little as we reflect upon it, it is unquestionably true that, so far as knowledge is concerned, we had better 216 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. lack every other organ of sensation than the skin. If we had not clear apprehensions from our touch, our eyes would present to us mere illusions, words would have no solid meaning on which higher senses could be built up. It is that recognition of separate substance which the fingers give, that first reveals to the dawning consciousness of the child his own individuality ; on the basis of that recognition of substance the eye traverses space, and translates a faint glimmer of light into a world ; on that same basis the bewildering variety of appearances in Nature stand before the mental eye as an endless series of motions, fulfilling in every change a perfect order. There is scarcely any sense that the skin cannot in some measure supplement. Blind men by its aid have learnt to distinguish colours ; by its aid the deaf listen and the dumb converse. Nay, as the case of Laura Bridgman proves, let a man be born into a dark and silent universe, eyeless and earless, cut off from every charm by which Nature endears herself to us, from every means . by which humanity acquires and stores up its growing knowledge; yet can the sense of touch, by loving nurture, still give him a happy place among his fellows. The touch is indeed remarkable for the improvement it may receive from practice. The blind soon come to THE BATH. THE SENSE OF TOUCH. 217 read with perfect ease a raised type not much larger than that of an ordinary large-print Bible. Saunderson, a professor of mathematics at Cambridge, blind from two years old, could distinguish genuine medals from counterfeits better than many good judges who possessed their sight. Many blind persons have become good sculptors ; others have been famous botanists ; and Dr. Carpenter mentions a blind friend who has so thorough a knowledge of shells that he takes rank with the best conchologists. Perhaps this great development of touch- power is not merely due, as in the case of the ear or eye, to practice ; for the touch differs from these latter organs in this respect, that while the nerves of hearing and of sight are provided with an apparatus for specially receiving and concentrating light and sound, the nerves of touch are invested with a covering specially adapted to deaden their perceptions ; namely, the outer layer of the skin. The sense of touch, therefore, may be susceptible of being rendered more acute by an alter- ation in this layer of scarf-skin itself, which may give the nerve a less impeded access to its object. In some aspects the touch is the fundamental sense, of which all the others are but modifications and de- velopments ; the motions of light and sound strike upon the ear and eye, so that seeing and hearing are but touching at a distance. Perhaps indeed there is not 2i8 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. truly the difference there seems to be ; for no two bodies, so far as can be discovered, ever come into absolute contact, so that in our firmest grasp we really touch at a distance, and feel not substance, but only force. But however this may be, this simplest of the senses certainly yields to none of them in wonder. The seat of the sense of touch is in the minute papillae of the skin, before described. These, accord- ingly, are most numerous in those parts of the surface in which the sensibility is most acute, as on the tips of the fingers, the lips, the point of the tongue. On the palmar surface of the hand they are arranged in rows, and so give rise to the lines which' mark this part of the surface. From 12,000 to 30,000 are here contained in a square inch. By means of a pair of compasses, it is easy to test the sensibility to touch of different parts of the body. The eyes being closed, the two points of the compasses are applied so as to touch "the skin at a short distance from each other, and it is found that the power of distinguishing them as two separate points varies very greatly with the situation. On the tip of the tongue they are felt as two at the distance of half a line ; on the point of the third finger, at the distance of one line; while on the back and the middle of the arm no clear sensation of two points of contact is given until they are two inches THE -BATH. THE SENSE OF TOUCH. 219 md a half apart. These, at least, are 'the average dis- mces, but they vary a good deal in different persons. If a part, such as the finger, possessed of a delicate tactile perception, touches another part which is less sensitive, such as the arm, it is the finger which feels the arm, not the arm the finger, unless the temperature of the two parts is different, for then both are felt. The sensations of touch also are persistent after the removal of their causes, like those of the other senses, but in still greater degree. Thus an earring may be felt long after it has been removed ; and in a similar way an irritation of the skin will frequently persist when the cause has ceased to operate. In appreciating weight, it has been found that the small hairs which cover the surface greatly assist, since the delicacy of the perception is much diminished when these are shaved off. This fact favours the view that the peculiar hairs with which some animals, such as the cat, are endowed, are tactile organs. The perception of heat and cold has a fair claim to be regarded as a special sense ; and some facts observed in disease seem to indicate that there are special nerves devoted to it. It is certain that the sensation requires for its production a special nervous structure in the skin, for experiments have shown that it cannot be excited when the skin is destroyed. Neither is it 220 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. perceived in any of the internal organs. A sense of cold or heat is felt from hot or cold substances swal- lowed only when the skin' is affected by the change of temperature in the parts within. Beyond a certain point, heat and cold alike produce a sensation merely of pain. Frozen mercury and red-hot iron feel alike. The larger the surface involved, the more intense is the feeling of temperature. Water at 104 degrees seems less warm to one finger than water two degrees lower seems to the whole hand. The left hand seems to have usually the acutest sense of temperature. There is another class of sensations, those which con- stitute what is termed the muscular sense, or feeling of exertion, which are also closely connected with the sense of touch. This muscular sense it is that gives us the consciousness of the amount of effort we put forth in any action, and thus conveys to us the feelings of resistance and solidity ; and, like touch, to the per- fection of which it is essential, it resides chiefly in the hand; though it is present in every part. It is, indeed, the union of this sense, in its utmost perfection, with nearly the most perfect sense of touch, that makes the hand the wonderful instrument it is. We may judge of the part the muscular sense plays in touch, by getting a friend to move one of our fingers over a smooth surface, while we shut our eyes. If he presses more THE BATH. THE SENSE OF TOUCH. 221 firmly at one part than at another, we receive the im- pression of an unevenness in the surface ; which we do not have if we exert a varying pressure ourselves. But besides being thus concentrated in the hand, the muscular sense comes into play, consciously or uncon- sciously, in every voluntary movement. By its teaching we adjust the strength we put forth to the demands of every action, and are able with a little experience to exert just so much as will suffice to attain the end. Through it we are able without thought to maintain the constant series of muscular actions by which the body is maintained in an upright position, and which could not cease for a moment without a fall. But the most wonderful instances of the operation of the mus- cular sense are seen in the muscles which adjust the ear and regulate the voice, so that persons with a good ear can reproduce with the utmost accuracy the boundless variety of tones, for each one of which a different kind or degree of muscular contraction is required. How entirely dependent our actions are on the muscular sense which guides them, is proved by some cases of disease, in which, though the muscular power remains, sensation is destroyed. In these cases there is an entire inability to act, unless the wanting muscular sense is supplied by the sight. Thus " a patient who cannot feel either the contact of his foot with the 222 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. ground or the muscular effort he is making, can manage to stand and walk by looking at his limbs ; and a woman who cannot feel the pressure of her child upon her arms can yet sustain it so long as she keeps her eyes fixed upon it, but no longer ; the limb dropping power- less the moment that the eyes are withdrawn from it." But it is not only in disease that our actions are es- sentially aided by our sight. In our ordinary move- ments we "lean/' as Professor Mayo said, "upon our eyesight as upon crutches;" and there is scarcely one in which the closure of the eyes does not introduce embarrassment, until by practice the muscular sense is trained to supply their place. Nor is it only in acting that the muscular sense and the eyesight co-operate. It is by the union of these two senses that distinct apprehensions of the world around us are obtained; and perceiving may be said to be the bringing to bear upon the object the conjoint powers of sight and touch. If without touch the eye would give us but appearances ; without the aid of know- ledge gathered by sight, the touch would impart to us little definite information, and would be subject to many illusions ; for though this sense seems to bring us more directly than the rest into relation with the very sub- stance of things, it also has its liabilities to error. For instance, if the second and third fingers be crossed THE BATH. THE SENSE OF TOUCH. 223 and a small object be placed between them, the feeling given is that of two distinct objects : this feeling, no doubt, arises from the relations of the nerves to each other being altered. In various diseases, again, illusions of the sense of touch are present, showing that in this mode of per- ceiving nature, as in others, there mingles also some- thing from ourselves. Our feeling of solidity, for example, answers to our own exertion, and may be produced not only by solid substances, but by various kinds of force, as on trying to bring together the cor- responding poles (which repel each other) of two powerful magnets. We must not think that by any one of our senses we can penetrate the secret of the universe. Light itself is but a shining veil; no eye has seen what nature is, nor hand has felt it in its grasp. Perhaps it is not without significance that, in the sense of touch, which seems to bring us closest to the world around, there is interposed a special impedi- ment to cut us off from a contact too direct. It seems an image of our state a parable engraved on each man's hand, to remind him that in all that he per- ceives there still is something hidden ; something that it would need a finer sense, a higher faculty than ours, to apprehend aright. Nor can we wonder that it should be so. What else does our experience of nature suggest, 224 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. but some mighty Power, betraying itself by wondrous flashes, but never wholly revealed ? We have examined most briefly and imperfectly indeed in previous papers the various organs of the senses, and have seen what science tells us. We have discovered structures most beautifully adapted for receiving mechanical and chemical impressions, and conveying them to a central '- organ of nerve-cells and fibres. But how does this explain our sensations ? What light does it cast upon the thrill of joy we feel in beauty, the rapture with which music carries us away ? These questions suggest one answer, and but one : that there is more in that which causes our sensations than we are conscious of. As the scarf-skin clothes and dulls the nerves, which could not bear, for pain, an unimpeded touch, so there is a darkness clothes our souls, and dims for us a glory too bright to bear. And therefore we see now but as through a glass, darkly, not only the Creator, but His works ; and therefore in us nature's harmony is broken. There is one other thought : the hand and eye not each in its own sphere alone, but used together give us true knowledge of material things. Even so, if man is to read Nature rightly, and gain but a faint glimpse of her true meaning, the heart and intellect, united, must furnish him the key. IX. NOTES ON PAIN. IT can scarcely be a pleasant occupation to read about pain; yet there are few who have not felt it, and feeling it, have wished to know something- of its nature, its cause, its object, or its treatment. Any one of these questions would give ample scope for a chapter, but we have designedly headed this "Notes on Pain," since it is our purpose to allude only to some of its more prominent characteristics. Pain may be due to many sources, but its most frequent causes seem to be an excess of blood or an intensity of nerve-currents, for the violent excita- tion of any sensation is painful, although the moderate excitement is pleasurable. We may, however, remark, that in the nervous apparatus of the organs of special sense the eye, the ear, etc. congestion, or intense excitement of nerve-currents, does not cause pain, but in the eye flashes of light, in the ear unusual noises, in the tongue peculiar tastes, evidence a deviation from the normal state. The tendency of protracted intellectual work to ex- pend force, exhaust physical power, and so induce VOL. I. Q 226 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. premature decay, is well known. Long-continued concentration of mind is exhausting, though it may seem easy and pleasant. Even pleasure itself implies an expenditure of blood and nerve-tissue, to the stinting, perhaps, of the active energies and intel- lectual processes. But pain is a more costly ex- perience than pleasure ; being accompanied by excess of blood in the brain arising from intensity of nervous action and conflicting currents (both of which are sources of waste), it uses up vital force more rapidly and wastefully than muscular or intellectual work. The feeling of ennui or sense of failure, from unsuccessful effort, is akin to pain, and is very wearying and de- pressing. Mere excitement may detain thought and impress memory, but does not waste power as pain does. The mention of excitement induces us to notice in passing that the disappearance of pain under strong mental emotion is no proof that the pain itself has been a creation of the fancy; for a powerful emotion may so modify the course of the circulation, as to withdraw the attention from the seat of pain, and so relieve local congestion.* The influence of pain in * The following incident well illustrates the extent to which pain may be dependent on fancy : " A butcher was brought into a druggist's from NOTES ON PAIN. 227 enfeebling the action of the heart is very great ; and when the blood is poor and the circulation weak, the supply of force obtained from the food, and available for muscular or mental work, is soon ex- hausted, and a sense of tiredness, passing into pain, occurs. Pain, too, may actually arrest secretion; and, by allowing the accumulation of effete matters in the blood, may poison the nervous system, disturb the serenity, and confuse the mind. We have so far regarded pain as a cause of the expenditure of vital force, but pain is also a conse- quence of the faulty removal of waste products. The pain of gout, rheumatism, ague, etc., is due to the presence in the blood of a material which acts as an irritant to the sentient nerves, and often continues for a long time after the removal of the poison. The long continuance of pain may keep up a turgid state of the vessels of the brain and render sleep impos- the market-place opposite, labouring under a terrible accident. The man, on trying to hook up a heavy piece of meat above his head, slipped, and the sharp hook penetrated his arm so that ho himself was suspended. On being examined, he was pale, almost pulseless, and expressed himself as suffering acute agony. The arm could not be moved without causing excessive pain, and in cutting off the sleeve he frequently cried out ; yet when the arm was exposed, it was found quite uninjured, the hook having traversed only the sleeve of the coat ! " The sensation here was perfectly real, but originated in a change in the brain and nerves, instead of in the external senses. 228 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE, sible. The nutrition or restoration of nerve-tissue, which ought to go on during sleep, is suspended, waste products accumulate, and interfere with clear- ness of intellect and happy activity of mind. Miserable restlessness and irritability are in this way engendered, which themselves may give rise to hypochondriasis, melancholia, or brain disease. We may notice the influence of pain on the lower animals, on different races of the human family, and on different individuals. Shakspeare says " The poor beetle that we tread upon, In corporal sufferance feels a pang as great As when a giant dies." Modern discovery entitles us to offer an opinion on the truth of this poetic axiom. Pain, " nature's kind harbinger of mischief," being given for wise purposes, acute perceptions could scarcely, in accordance with our enlarged views of the beneficence displayed in the construction of the universe, be supposed to exist in animals who have no power of avoiding dangers ; and, inasmuch as, in the higher animals at least, the power of feeling pain exists in the brain, it is natural to infer that where this organ is wanting, the sensibility to pain would be absent too ; and that, as this part of the nervous system becomes more perfect, the power of feeling pain would increase. In other words, as NOTES ON PAIN. 229 the strength, activity, and intelligence of an animal, by which it can escape from pain, depend on the per- fection of the brain, so does the perception of torture depend on the condition of the same organ. Apart from science and theory, every-day observations show us that, among many of the lower animals, the feeling of pain is not acutely developed. The fly seized by the leg will leave its limb behind, and with apparent unconcern wing itself away to regale on the nearest sweets; and of so little moment is the loss of a limb to a lobster, that he will throw off his claws if alarmed by the report of a cannon. Talking, barking, and grunting animals scream more when hurt than those that use but little language, as the horse, sheep, or cow. Not only does a difference exist in the sensibility to pain evinced by man, as compared with the lower animals, but between the various races of the human species the diversity is almost as marked. The power of bearing pain without exhibition of feeling, as culti- vated by the stoical Spartan, varies greatly in different persons, and in the same person at different times; and it cannot be doubted that, irrespective of relative fortitude, there is a real diversity in the nervous sus- ceptibilities of different persons and races of mankind. To some it is natural to be loudly demonstrative, and 230 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. they, perhaps without less real fortitude, cry out vociferously where another man, or a man of another nation, would not flinch. We may, on the other hand, often learn a lesson in resignation from the calm behaviour of those whose delicate organization must increase their susceptibility to pain, and who yet bear without a murmur agony the most continuous and excruciating. It is said of the late Sir Robert Peel, that his sensibility to pain was excessive ; and no one would accuse him of a want of fortitude. In the same person the sensibility to pain varies : at one time the application of a blister is as " nothing ; " at another it is " agony." Not only does the organization of the sufferer affect his capacity for endurance, but the very nature of the pain itself has a considerable influence on the question : for some pains are more readily borne with equanimity than others, and this appar- ently quite independently of the intensity of the suffering. In gout, for instance, proneness to irrita- bility, both mental and physical, is an almost insep- arable symptom of the disease; and great indeed must be that man's fortitude and power of endurance who can bear without exhibition of temper the height of the gouty paroxysm, and remain calm and uncom- plaining throughout the attack. The unbearable severity of gouty pain is such as to render every thought but NOTES ON PAIN. 231 of the pain impossible. A well-known barrister, who is a martyr to neuralgia, while he has been perfectly- unable to concentrate his mind on his case when labouring under an attack of gout, has often con- ducted a cause when suffering from a paroxysm of tic-douloureux. Although pain may be well-nigh in- tolerable, it is not therefore always an index of serious mischief ; and though so acute in gout and rheumatism, it is often altogether absent in far more fatal maladies. In consumption, for instance, it is not uncommon for the sufferer to be free from pain, even to the last. And in some rare instances the occurrence of pain may even be a proof of a change for the better. We have seen that, as was to be expected from the variation in their respective organisms, a distinction may be drawn between the susceptibility to pain of the lower animals and of man; that a difference in this particular likewise exists between two men of the same race indeed, in the same man at different times, or under different circumstances. We may carry the distinction one step farther, and notice that in the various parts of the same body there is a different susceptibility to pain, a difference due to the structure of the organs, and the distribution of the sentient nerves. In tense unyielding tissues, as those which cover the 232 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. bones and cartilages, the pain from swelling caused by inflammation is intense, while in lax elastic parts it is trifling. In inflammation of the scalp, for instance, it is curious to observe that only where the yielding tissues are firmly united with the gristle of the ear, is pain complained of. The character, as well as the intensity, of pain varies, too, according to the structure involved. Thus, if the pleura covering the lungs is inflamed, the pain is stabbing or darting; in the conjunctiva (the membrane covering the eye), the pain is gritty or itching ; burn- ing or gnawing in the lining of the stomach. Throb- bing pain, produced by the filling and tension of the arteries with each beat of the pulse, is usually indi- cative of inflammation, though it may occur in paralysed persons from weakening or diminished elasticity of the blood-vessels. From this cause a permanent flushing of the cheeks is common in palsy, just as blushing is due to a temporary paralysis of the nerves which con- trol the cutaneous circulation. Although, as already hinted, the existence of extreme pain cannot be taken as an evidence of the severity of a disorder, for pain of the most acute character occurs often without any other evidence of disease (being itself the disease), and passes away, leaving no traces of altera- tion or change of structure in the painful part, yet pain NOTES ON PAIN. 233 is of great value to the physician as a sign or symptom of disease, indicating to him by its situation the organ affected, and by its character and intensity the nature of the complaint. But it should be borne in mind, that though of real value in assisting diagnosis, pain is a symptom very apt to mislead. The seat of pain is not always that of the disorder whence it originates; an irritating cause may be either at the source, or along the course of a nerve, or at its termination, and yet be felt at the same spot. Tic-douloureux may be caused by disease of the bones of the head pressing on a nerve where it passes through the skull. Discomfort in the stump of an amputated limb may be referred to the parts which have been removed, as in the case of the old sailor who constantly complained of a pain in the toes, though he had lost both his legs at the battle of Trafalgar. Pain in the knee is common in hip disease ; in the shoulder, from disordered liver ; in the arm, from heart affection ; and in the larynx, from accumulation within the lungs. Pain, too, often occurs long after the cause to which it is due has passed away; and if this fact were more generally realized, we should be better able to avoid what is harmful. Muscular stiffness is often greatest two or three days after the exertion which gave rise to it, and the same is true with regard to headache arising 234 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. from overwork. Still more is this the case with other common forms of " sick-headaches/' which, having no direct and immediate relation to the food last taken, are confidently asserted to be entirely independent of the digestive organs. In searching for the cause of a morbid condition, we shall be less likely to be misled if we bear in mind that this interval (between the pain itself and its exciting cause) may be, especially in persons of feeble organization and slow circulation, greatly prolonged. Pain in a part, even when purely subjective in its origin, may produce not a semblance merely of actual disease, but real alteration in the structure, though previously healthy; for the direction of the attention to any organ is a cause of the deter- mination of blood to the part; inflammatory action may follow congestion, and may pass on to disor- ganization.* Internal organs, the lungs especially, sometimes become diseased in consequence of the habitual direc- tion of the consciousness to them. Not only is pain an active agent in the production of disease, but it is sometimes an actual cause of death. Its influence in diminishing the action of the heart is immense, pro- * The late Sir Benjamin Brodie recorded a number of cases of affection of the joints following hysterical concentration of the mind on the part. NOTES ON PAIN. 235 ducing that extreme degree of depression, or collapse, from which the patient never rallies. When we speak of death from " shock/' it is sometimes the pain which, inducing the shock to the nervous system, must be looked upon as the destroying agent. Hence we are naturally led to consider the treatment of pain, and cannot fail to see the importance of sound views as to its origin and nature. If pain were due to an " excess of life," then it might be a right practice to attack it with lowering remedies; but since it is really dependent on deterioration of the vital pro- cesses, our aim must be to restore rather than to de- stroy, to build up rather than to pull down. On the first suggestion of pain, our impulse is at once to fly to the nearest remedy : that which shall the most speedily and effectually secure to us the much- desired relief. It may be interesting to point out the action of some of the means usually adopted to attain this end; ami a word of warning against their abuse may not be out of place. The power of tea and coffee in relieving nerve pain is particularly striking; and the influence of quinine and strychnine is, in a certain sense, analogous. The former, as well as the latter class, of remedies, may be taken in poisonous doses. Brandy and other powerful stimulants often act by a sort of revulsive influence. 236 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. Since one form of disease may counterbalance and counteract another, it is sometimes justifiable to de- velop an artificial source of disturbance, and it is upon this principle that blisters, setons, and issues, etc., act. Chloroform, like cold or galvanism, causes contraction of vessels, renders the brain pale, and thus destroys consciousness. Narcotics, opium, tobacco, and the like, retard oxygenation, and check vital processes. Local aneesthetics, as ice, or asther spray, by freezing the part to be operated upon, deaden its sensibility ; and though thus annihilating pain, they yet leave the patient fully conscious, and alive to the feelings of horror consequent upon his seeing the operation in progress. Other means of temporarily destroying the sensibility of the nerves to pain there are, such as opiates taken internally, or syringed under the skin of the painful part, and they are of great value. But it must be borne in mind that the removal of pain is not necessarily the removal of the disease. The deadening of pain by opiates may gain for the doctor the delightful applause of the sufferer, although not unfrequently the benumbing of sensation is the first step in the course of hopeless retrogression. It is this benumbing influence of sedatives which make them often so injurious; they induce an artificial calm, NOTES ON PAIN. 237 and say " Peace, peace, when there is no peace." It is as unwise thus to silence the voice of nature, as to deal heedlessly with the complaints of the body. By a merciful provision, it frequently happens that nature herself supplies the means whereby the sufferer is enabled to bear up though enduring the most racking pain. Under the influence of intense excitement, or mental emotion, the balance of the nervous system is sometimes so completely destroyed, that during great injury of sensitive structures no pain is experienced. This absence of pain after wounds, which would other- wise entail suffering of the most intense character, is often remarked upon the field of battle. Dr. Living- stone's account of his rencontre with the lion, when his arm was fractured, illustrates this fact : he writes, " I saw the lion in the act of springing on me. I was on a little height ; he caught my shoulder as he sprang, and we both came to the ground below together. Growling horribly close to my ear, he shook me as a terrier dog does a rat. The shock produced a stupor like that which seems to fall on a mouse after the first shake of the cat. It caused a sort of dreaminess, in which there was no sense of pain nor feeling of terror, though I was quite conscious of all that was happening. It was like what patients partially under the influence of chloroform describe, who see all the operation, but feel 238 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. no knife. This singular condition was not the result of any mental process. The shake annihilated fear, and allowed no sense of horror in looking round at the beast." This peculiar state is probably felt in all animals killed by the carnivora ; aud if so, is a merciful provision by our benevolent Creator, for lessening the pain of death. Livingstone remarks that, "besides crushing the shoulder-bone into splinters, he left eleven teeth wounds in the upper part of my arm," a wound which, but for the fascination described, must have been an acutely painful one. At a recent railway accident, such was the excite- ment of the moment, that a gentleman, five of whose ribs were broken, was observed to disentangle himself from the broken carriage, lift his wife, by no means a "light weight," and lay her on the embankment, ignorant of the injury he himself had sustained ; whilst a little boy, whose leg was badly broken, crept through the broken window, and trying to walk, found he could not stand, for his leg was " limp like a doll's." Not' only is the cessation of pain in acute disease often a sign of ill-omen, but the absence of pain in disorders which are usually intensely painful pleurisy, for example is frequently a serious evil; partly, no doubt, because the malady may thus run its course NOTES ON PAIN. 239 unobserved, without any steps being taken to check it. When the natural sensitiveness of a part becomes destroyed, disease often progresses with great rapidity. In some kinds of paralysis a particle of dust falling on the eye gives rise to no sensation of grittiness or pain, as would be the case in a healthy condition, but sets up irritation, which frequently results in the de- struction of the organ. In paralysis,* again, one posi- tion is often retained until the vitality of the part is weakened, and thus "bed-sores" form; whilst in health a sensation of discomfort leads us at once to shift our position, and this almost without our noticing the dis- comfort, or the change of posture. Between discomfort and pain we can draw no line, the one passing insens- ibly into the other. It must therefore be evident that pain is, under certain circumstances, really beneficial. It is often a great boon to have a sensitive stomach; for those who suffer pain after food are less apt habitually to err in diet, and thus to become dyspeptic or gouty, than those whose organs receive everything uncomplainingly. Pain in the stomach is frequently due (in well-to-do people) * In hysterical or hypochondriacal people, whose sensibility is very acute, apparent paralysis occasionally occurs, not from loss of power, but from fear to move a part lest motion should give rise to painful sensations. 240 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. to the fact that they won't work and will eat ; not that the stomach itself is weak (as they think) , but that the supply of food being greater than the demand, the system becomes overstocked. In dyspepsia the cause is very often far away, and the stomach is no more the cause of the malady than the big toe is of the gout ; but if the stomach gave no signs of perturbation, the evil would be allowed longer to exist unnoticed. We should always give early attention to pain, and discover its causes, before they become too complex to be un- ravelled, and before the derangement which its presence indicates becomes permanent. "We must not school the body to bear it under a mistaken notion that resig- nation, for its own sake, is a virtue to be cultivated, but take steps at once to find out and avoid the cause. Pain tells us that the bodily machinery is out of order, and needs attention ; and to nothing does the old adage apply more truly, that "a stitch in time saves nine/' In some persons, it is true, there is a tendency to morbid introspection, and much thought may be given to little meaningless ailments ; but as a rule it is wise to be ready to detect the earliest evidence of derange- ment in order that appropriate remedial measures may be at once adopted. When, on the other hand, it has been ascertained that any form of pain denotes no real danger, or that the mischief is irremediable, nothing NOTES ON PAIN. 241 contributes more at once to manliness of character and to enjoyment of life than to put away as far as possible the thought of the inevitable suffering, and to encounter it with cheerfulness. From what has been said, it appears that we can in no sense regard pain as a needlessly inflicted punish- ment, for plain evidences of its usefulness are not wanting. In health, but for a wholesome dread of pain, we should, as children, be daily rushing into danger; and throughout life it acts as a continual perservative from harm, preventing the performance of many actions which might entail upon us bodily injury. In disease, again, especially when of an inflammatory type, it serves to secure to us that perfect rest so essential in promoting recovery, and prompts to many necessary actions which we should otherwise neglect.* Pain also has higher uses even than these. We most of us admit that we are better for wise correction ; and if we regard pain as a means of " refining our earth - liness," as indeed a "loving correction/ 7 then the correction may become " loved " also for its end's sake, * The following extract from the letter of a lady, long a great sufferer, illustrates the influence of pain as a life preserver : " Pain makes me take care now : though the love and desire of life are wholly gone, there remains the same shrinking from increased pain ; and so I don't do things I should do otherwise, because they would probably bring on suffering without touching life." VOL. I. K 242 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. and bearing the pain become an easy task; so that we can say in Keble's spirit : " Wish not, dear friends, my pain away ; Wish me a wise and thankful heart, With God in all my griefs to stay, Nor from the loved correction part." As gold is purified in the furnace, so is character refined by pain. Nor is this merely a modern thought ; when the ancient patriarch was wasted .by protracted suffering, then it was said, "There is none perfect on all the earth like Job." All this, however, does not prove that pain is a good in itself. Its beneficial effects in leading us to avoid evil are partial only ; often its results are mischievous : nor does it always punish sin, or serve as a discipline to character; for very often it falls upon the innocent most heavily; very often it hardens and rouses to the bitterness of despair, paralysing instead of stimulating. Some deeper reason than any of these must account for its existence in the work of a beneficent Creator. We have now hastily glanced at some of the pro- minent characteristics of pain. The subject of pleasure is so intimately associated with it in our minds, that we cannot pass it by without the one remark that it is impossible to draw an absolute line between the two. In some instances, what is to one person painful, is to NOTES ON PAIN. 243 another, or to the same person at another time, plea- surable. Our pains and pleasures depend to a great extent upon ourselves. The absence of all exertion, unendurable to the healthy man, may be to the invalid essential to pleasure or comfort; the natural exercise of the powers, which ought to be a source of pleasure, may be his agony. Things rightly pleasurable become painful when we lack the power to enjoy them; and on the other hand, without a certain amount of endur- ance, life ceases to be enjoyable, and work, itself an irksome thing, we find necessary for happiness. X. RESPIRATION. I. THE FLAME OF LIFE. IT has been a favourite comparison of moralists and philosophers to say that the life of man is like the burning of a flame; and, looking at the physical life, not of man only, but of other animals, there can be no doubt that the comparison, is true in more senses than could have been suspected by those who first made use of it. For life, like the burning of a flame, is a con- tinuous process, which has no stop or pause. It needs, like fire, to go on with a certain energy and intensity, if it is to go on at all; and, failing this, it fades away and comes to an end, not to be again revived, except new life be given. These points of likeness have always been seen, and it is probably such as these which suggested the image. But there is one other point, less striking at first sight, in which life and flame are not merely analogous, but exactly alike. Neither, as we commonly know them, can exist without the presence of the common air; and, as we shall see, there are other points of likeness which de- pend on this. It is not, of course, our object here RESPIRATION. 245 to pursue the comparison very far, but having to speak of that part of man's life called respiration, or, In plain words, of what we have to do with the air how we breathe it, and for what end it will greatly help us to start from this admirable comparison. For, in this respect, at least, our life is precisely like the burning of a taper. 'We need air just as much, we take from it the same things, and we give the same things to it, as a candle, or a fire. But, to make this clear, it will be necessary to say first what it is we mean by burn- ing, and what this has to do with the air. We have said that a candle cannot burn without air. How is this shown? Since in common life we do not know what it is to be without air, it is neces- sary to have recourse to an experiment. Let us sup- pose that we set a taper to burn in some limited space, as, for instance, in a closed glass jar. Lecturers on chemistry do this by fixing the taper on a piece of cork, floating in water, and then inverting a bell jar over the whole. Most persons know what the result is. At first the taper burns as freely as in the open air, but gradually the flame becomes less bright, and at length it goes out altogether. Moreover, in a large jar it burns a longer, in a small jar a shorter time. This shows very plainly that not only is some air neces- sary, but a certain quantity. We shall find, too, 246 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. another fact well worthy of notice, namely, that the air which remains is altered; so much so, that a fresh taper will not burn in it at all. It would seem then, that the taper has removed from the air all that was valuable, and left behind what it could make no use of. Now, exactly in the same way, the effect produced by living beings on the air may be examined, and the result is found to be precisely the same. If a small animal, such as a mouse, is shut up in a closed jar, it dies after a longer or shorter time; and it will be impossible for another animal to live in the air in which the first has died. Moreover, as a general rule, it would be found that a candle could not burn in the air in which an animal could not live, and vice versa. It seems, then, that in these respects the process of life and the process of burning are exactly alike. In each process, a certain part of the air seems to be used up ; and since the air which is left is good neither for life nor for combustion, we may suppose that they require and use up the same part or ingredient of the air. Every one who knows anything of chemistry has heard that the air, though it seems to us some- thing quite simple, is really a mixture of two gases or kinds of air. These are known by the names of oxygen and nitrogen. Oxygen, also called vital air, is the RESPIRATION. 247 active and important element in supporting life and combustion : while nitrogen is a neutral or inactive gas, which is of no particular account for either of these purposes. If oxygen were removed, though it is only one-fifth part of the whole in bulk, nothing could live or burn. If nitrogen, which makes up four-fifths, were taken away, its absence, though important enough in other respects, would not prevent the processes of life or combustion from going on. It is hardly necessary to say, then, that what a burning candle or a living animal takes from the air is oxygen (though neither takes away, generally speaking, all the oxygen), and what is left behind is principally nitrogen. But there are one or two other points to be men- tioned about the air in which things have burned or lived. In the first place, such air is always moist. We know that our breath is moist, that is to say, contains watery vapour, and the same thing may be seen by holding a cold glass above the flame of a candle. In the second place, such air always contains a peculiar gas, or kind of air, called carbonic acid, or fixed air. This is indeed to be found in the atmo- sphere at all times, but in very small quantities, only about four parts in ten thousand. It is the same gas which in mines is called choke-damp, which is met with at the bottoms of wells and in brewers' vats; and is 248 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. in all these cases known to be so dangerous and deadly. It is always contained, as we have seen, in the air in which any living animal has been, or a candle has burnt ; and it is the presence of this gas, quite as much as the want of oxygen, which prevents other things from living or burning in the same space. In these respects, then, at least, life and combustion are precisely alike : that they take from the air oxygen or vital air, and they add to it moisture and the deadly gas called carbonic acid. So far, every living thing has a fire burning within. It seems strange that, in this point, all living things should be the enemies of each other. We are each one of us continually taking from the air what our fellow-creatures need, and adding to it what is poisonous to them. The competition would be terrible indeed were vital air not bestowed in such inexhaustible profusion; and serious indeed would be the wrong done by one crea- ture to another, were there not means at hand for dispersing the deadly poison which all produce, and rendering it harmless. In the open air no creature ever suffered from want of oxygen, or from too much carbonic acid; but in crowded rooms and unhealthy dwellings, serious harm may be caused by the excess of the one, and possibly also by deficiency of the other. Of this, however, we shall speak by-and-by. RESPIRATION. 249 II. THE MECHANISM OF BREATHING. WE have said that animals are continually taking from the air, and giving to it, certain gases. We shall now say something about the mechanism or apparatus by which those gases get in and out of the body. In the first place, we must say that the gases always pass through a moist membrane or delicate skin, and always pass into or out of the blood. This is the one thing necessary. There must be in every organ of breathing a delicate moist skin, which permits air of different kinds to pass through readily, but nothing else to pass in or out. Such a membrane as this, on one side of which is the blood, on the other side the air, may be called the breathing-membrane. In the simplest animals the whole of the skin serves this purpose; they breathe all over their bodies. But in more complicated animals one part only of the general covering is set apart for this purpose. Just as in a simple state of society every man is a soldier, a hus- bandman, a shepherd, a tradesman ; but in civilized societies one man has, as a rule, only one trade : so in simple animals any part of the skin may be used for any purpose for taking in food or for taking in air ; but in the higher animals one part is devoted to one purpose and one to another. Now the breathing membrane of animals is arranged 250 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. in various forms. It may line a hollow place com- municating with the outside, as in the lungs of air- breathing animals, or it may be stretched over a pro- jecting portion of the body, as in the gills of fishes and other water animals. The sea snail in Fig. 1 FIG. 1. DOEIS, OR SEA SNAIL. The crown of tufts on its back, which is covered with a delicate mem- brane, is its breathing apparatus. (After Carpenter.) breathes by the delicate tufts on his back, which are covered by what we have called the breathing-mem- brane. Water animals do not really breathe water, but the air which is dissolved in it. If you boil some water, so as to drive all the air out, and put a fish in it, he will be just as badly off as a fish out of water. So that the breathing of water animals and land animals . is really the same process. The fact that an animal possesses breathing organs does not prevent some breathing taking place through the ordinary skin. Animals with moist skins, as frogs, breathe a good RESPIRA TION. 251 deal in this way; and even in ourselves a certain amount of gas is given out through the skin, though it is doubtful whether any air is absorbed. At all events, the chief amount of breathing is done by the special breathing-membrane which lines, as we have said, certain organs called the lungs. Our lungs, as most people know, are situated in our FIG. 2. CAST OF ONE OF THE TERMINAL BRANCHES OF THE BRONCHIAL TUBES FROM THE HUMAN LUNG. Natural size. (After Henle.) chest, and air is conveyed to them through a pipe in our neck, called the trachea or windpipe. Now, the windpipe divides into two, sending a branch into each lung. These branches divide into several others, called bronchial tubes, and these into still smaller bronchial tubes (Fig. 2). Finally, the smallest bronchial tubes 252 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. end in a very small funnel-shaped cavity, at the sides of which are several saucer-shaped spaces, called air-cells. Fig. 3 represents a plaster cast of some of these funnel-shaped terminations, with the air-cells upon them. Thus the whole system of tubes is like FIG. 3. SMALL PORTION OF THE SAME CAST AS IN FIG. 2. Magnified 15 diameters. (After Henle.) a tree, of which the windpipe is the trunk j and the air-cells are, roughly, like fruit or leaves growing on the smallest twigs. Each twig, or little bronchial tube, with its group of air-cells, forms a hollow space, like a glove with the fingers distended, and does not communicate with the others, but only opens into the larger air-tubes. This will be understood by Fig. 4, which represents a lung before it is completely formed. RESPIRATION. 253 Here the air-tubes are seen to be hollowed out in the solid substance of the lung. As the lung grows, these become a hundred times as numerous, and are so closely packed together that the solid substance be- comes almost nothing, and the lung appears porous, HUMAN LUXG AX A VERY EABLY STAGE OF GROWTH. Showing the plan on which the perfect lung is formed. T is the trachea, or windpipe. (After Ecker.) like a sponge. But really it is made up of nothing but air-cells and tubes arranged as we have described them, and forming one cavity which communicates with the outside air only through the windpipe. The membrane lining this cavity is the breathing- 254 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. membrane, and its whole extent has been calculated as from 10 to 20 square feet; so that if we imagine a sheet 3 feet long by 4 or 5 feet wide, that will show us by how large a surface air is constantly entering and leaving our body. "We said just now that the breathing-membrane must have air on one side and FIG. 5. NETWOBK OF CAPILLARY BLOOD-VESSELS ON THE MEMBRANE LINING AN AIB-CELL. * * Small arteries cut across. Magnified 300 diameters. (After Henle.) the blood of the body on the other. We have seen how the air gets to it. Let us now speak of the blood. If we examine the wall of one of the air-cells we find that many very small blood-vessels, called, from their size, capillaries, or hair-like tubes, are RES P IRA TION. 255 spread over it. They are so closely placed that (as we see in Fig. 5) they occupy more space than the intervening parts. Imagine the sheet we spoke of just now covered with a network like this, and we shall get some notion of the distribution of blood in the lungs. These little vessels are in connection with larger vessels called arteries, which start from one main stem, called the pulmonary artery, which begins in the heart. At every beat of our heart, blood is sent through the pulmonary artery into this wonderful network of vessels, whence it returns by another set of vessels, called veins, to the heart. It is calculated that zV of all the blood in our bodies passes at each stroke of the heart into the lungs; so that after twenty-seven strokes, or, on the average, in twenty seconds, the whole mass of blood has passed over the breathing-membrane and been exposed to the action of the air. The lungs are inclosed in an air-tight box viz., the chest, which may be made larger or smaller by the movements of its floor and walls. The floor of the chest is a muscular plate called the diaphragm, or midriff, which is not flat, but arched or vaulted up- wards. Every time we " draw a breath/' or take air into the chest, this floor becomes flatter and less arched, the consequence of which is that the size of 256 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. the cliest is increased. The walls of the chest, as we know, are made of the bony plates called the ribs. These are so arranged that they move upwards, and at the same time project farther from the backbone, and thus the chest becomes deeper in its fore and aft direction. The lungs are not absolutely fastened to the walls of the chest, but their outer surface clings very closely to the walls by suction; so that if the hollow of the chest becomes larger, the lungs, being made of a substance which is extremely elastic, swell up and become larger in proportion. If, then, we want to draw breath, the floor of our chest moves down, the walls move upwards and outwards, the lungs expand, and a certain amount of air is drawn into them through the windpipe. When this effort, called inspiration, or breathing in, is over, the chest walls fall back to their former position by their natural elas- ticity, and as much air as was drawn in is now ex- pelled. Thus the movement of breathing in is a distinct effort, and the movement of breathing out is not, as a rule, an effort at all; but we can increase its force, if necessary, by some voluntary exertion. As might be expected, not all the air in the lungs is changed with each breath. The amount drawn in and driven out again is calculated to be not more than -TO of what the lungs contain, the actual quantity being RESPIRATION. 257 from 20 to 30 cubic inches. The air, when drawn in, cannot, of course, penetrate at once to the inmost parts of the lungs, where the air-cells are; but it mixes with the air contained in these parts, and thus that which is breathed out again, though about the same in quantity, is very much altered in properties. It is both hotter and moister, and the gases it contains, are in different proportions. The vital air is, as we might expect, less in proportion, but the carbonic acid of which we have spoken is enormously increased. Breathed air contains a hundred times as much carbonic acid as ordinary air, containing four parts in a hundred instead of four in ten thousand. It is plain, then, that the use of the lungs is to take up air for the use of the body, and to send out the gas which, as we have seen, is always produced by life or by burning; we must not, however, suppose that the process of burning takes place especially in the lungs. The air absorbed is conveyed by the blood to every part of the body, and the carbonic acid given out is, in the same way, collected from every corner to which the blood pene- trates. m. VAKIATIONS IN AMOUNT OF RESPIRATION. HAVING, then, said something about the machinery by which the process of breathing is carried on, we now VOL. i. s 258 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. propose to consider the amount of breathing which goes on under different circumstances, and the rules for practical life which may be drawn from these facts. The most elaborate and extensive experiments have been made to measure the quantities of gases absorbed or given off under different circumstances; and it will perhaps be interesting to give some ac- count of some of the ingenious and beautiful apparatus by which these results have been arrived at. We shall confine ourselves to describing the most perfect apparatus yet contrived that erected at Munich by the wise liberality of the late King of Bavaria, and now in operation under the guidance of Professors Pettenkofer and Yoit. The principle of this is to determine the exact amounts of oxygen consumed and carbonic acid given out by an individual living under ordinary conditions, and with whom it is therefore possible to carry on the experiments for many hours at a time. The way in which this object is effected is as follows : A little sheet-iron chamber, about eight feet in each direction, is devoted to the individual who is the subject of experiment : in it he can live, eat, and sleep with tolerable comfort for twelve or twenty-four hours. In one side of the chamber two pipes are fixed, about three inches in diameter, which unite a little way off, RESPIRATION, 259 and through which air is continually pumped out of the chamber by steam-power. There is an opening on the other side for the entrance of air, but this is not wanted, that which finds its way in through the crevices of the door and windows being sufficient. In this way a continual strong current of air is drawn through the chamber, so that on an average 70,000 gallons pass through in one day. The air which is thus drawn through has to be measured, and also to be analysed, in order to ascertain the exact amount of oxygen, carbonic acid, and watery vapour which it contains. The air is measured by being made to pass through an ordinary English gasometer, and a portion only is withdrawn to be analysed; this portion being, of course, also measured, and the quantities of these substances contained in it being ascertained, it is, of course, possible to calculate how much is contained in the whole mass of air. The sample analysed is not, however, more than ^^o f the whole. It will thus be seen that the results obtained do not show the proportion of particular gases in the air inspired or expired, but the absolute amount of oxygen consumed, and of carbonic acid generated, under particular cir- cumstances. A little consideration will show why this is so important a matter to determine. It is very much like, though not exactly the same thing as, 290 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. weighing the coals burnt in a furnace. It is like that, or comes to the same thing, because, when any- thing is burnt, the amount of material consumed is exactly in proportion to the amount of air used up. If, then, we could measure the air consumed by a steam-engine, it would be the same thing as measur- ing the coals, and would equally tell us the amount of work performed. Now this is just what we do with the animal body. We measure the amount of air it uses up, and the carbonic acid produced, and find that this tells us precisely what amount of work it does or can do. So exactly does this process corre- spond to determining the amount of fuel burnt up in a fire, that when some candles were burnt in the Munich apparatus, the weight consumed could be, it was found, precisely calculated from the gases produced. We must here say a word about the one point in which the comparison of life to combustion does not entirely hold. In combustion, the amount of air used, and the amount of the offcen-spoken-of carbonic acid produced, are, for any period whatever, exactly equal in bulk. In the living animal, this is not the case, if the observation is made for a short period of time only ; sometimes the one seems to be too much, sometimes the other. If, however, the quantities of Doth in twenty-four hours are determined, they are found to be RESPIRATION. 261 pretty nearly equal; the oxygen being constantly rather more ; since it is, in fact, used in the body for other purposes besides burning up material to form carbonic acid gas. With this exception, the processes are in the long run the same. Now, it has always been suspected that the body possessed some power of accumulating oxygen for future use, and some experi- ments lately made with the great Munich apparatus have thrown much light upon this point. It has been found that, speaking generally, we absorb more oxy- gen during the night, and produce more carbonic acid during the day.* In other words, we store up in the hours of sleep that vital air which we need for the hours of toil. Moreover, as the amount of carbonic acid produced always bears some kind of proportion to the work done in the day, so, after a laborious day, it was found that the process of absorption was also active just in proportion. This certainly explains better to us the uses of sleep than any facts hitherto known. As the production of carbonic acid is more especially a process belonging to the day, so it is accelerated by all occupations which belong to the * Later experiments have thrown some doubt on this statement. It has been found that the hours of taking food much affect the result. Still something always remains which is due to the difference of day and night. 262 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. day. The quantity increases with exercise, it in- creases after taking food. It has been noticed, too, that in cold weather much more of this gas is pro- duced than in warm weather, and more when moist air is breathed than dry air. We should not suppose, as people often do, that fresh air is less needed in winter than in summer. As might be expected, the amount of this gas produced is greater also in pro- portion to the size of the individual; but it is curious that this seems to depend more upon muscular de- velopment than height, or even the capacity of the chest. Grown persons produce naturally more than children or old people, but children produce more in proportion to their weight. We have spoken of some of the conditions under which the great fire of the animal body is kept up. A few words may now be said about one result com- monly associated with burning, and, as we shall see, also associated with the flame of life that is, the production of heat. It is certain that the heat of the animal body is simply owing to the burning which is continually going on inside it. This production of heat doubtless takes place in all parts of the body, and not only in the lungs, so that no one organ can be spoken of as if it were the furnace of the whole system. Rather the whole body is one great furnace. RESPIRATION. 263 It is tolerably certain tliat most, if not all, of the great operations or functions of the body cannot go on without some kind of combustion. The muscles contract, the nerves transmit sensations or the com- mands of the will, the stomach digests, the brain acts in thinking; in all these cases, some kind of chemical process is going on which requires the presence of vital air, and which resembles in some degree the process of burning. If this be the case, how im- portant it must be that there should be no impedi- ment to perfect combustion, that not only the supply of fuel, but the supply of air, should be sufficient ! With the fuel we have at the present moment nothing to do. That stands for food in our comparison. But just as coals will not burn unless there be a good draught, so it is certain that food will do us no good without a proper supply of fresh air. People are very willing to admit this in words, but they do not always think about, or perhaps know, what pure air is, and how it is to be obtained. No one doubts that the air of the mountain-top or of the open fields in a healthy country is pure. If we could only get enough of that, we should do very well. But the air some of us have to breathe is not so good as this ; and we do not al- ways get enough of it. There are very many impuri- ties met with in air ; but we must confine ourselves 264 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. here to those arising from the process of breathing itself; in which, as we have seen, men are always tending to poison one another. A man breathes out on an average twelve cubic feet of air in an hour; and this air contains, as we have seen, 100 times as much carbonic acid as ordinary air. In order, then, to dilute this, and to bring it to a condition in which it is fit to breathe again, it should be diluted with one hundred times its bulk of pure air. Since ordinary air contains, as we have said, a certain proportion of this gas, it will be necessary to have double this quantity in order that the products of respiration may be ren- dered at once perfectly harmless. This would give 2,400 cubic feet per hour as the quantity of fresh air necessary. Since, however, there is a great deal of imperceptible diffusion of air, it is quite safe to say that 2,000 cubic feet per hour for each individual would be sufficient. This number agrees very closely with those obtained by different observers by various methods, and is, moreover, the same as that arrived at after careful experiments as to actual ventilation of rooms. This will, however, convey but little practical in- formation if we do not know what size and arrange- ment of openings there should be to secure this amount of air. It is calculated that if nothing bat RESPIRATION. 265 natural ventilation is made use of, that is to say, the natural movements of hot and cold air, an opening five inches in the square will admit this amount of air in an hour; at the same time there should be an equal opening in another position for escape of the impure air. The outlet should naturally be near the top of a room, and the inlet near the floor. To take an instance : suppose that a room is to be ventilated entirely by means of a window four feet wide. If this were opened rather more than half an inch at the bot- tom and the same at the top, we should get two open- ings of the required size ; that is the very smallest amount sufficient to destroy the bad effects of the breathing of one person. If two persons are present, each opening should be twice as large, and so on. This implies that the window must be thus open day and night, quite independently of opening the doors and windows from time to time. Of course, it is not in all seasons possible to keep windows open, and then we must have some other method. The one most readily at hand is the fireplace. Since there is here an additional force at work, namely, the heat of the fire, we can, to a certain extent, dispense with an inlet, for the draught will suck air in for itself through cre- vices and chance openings, but it is much better that these should be provided. An ordinary chimney is sel- 266 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. dom more than one foot square in the shaft, often not more than eight inches. Now, a shaft eight inches square gives ventilation sufficient for about three men, on our scale, certainly not more. So that if more than that number habitually live in a room, some other means of ventilation is necessary. We give these numbers as the least possible con- sistent with proper removal of the ordinary products of breathing; but how many other sources of impurity are there ! Take simply gas-burners, or even other lights. It has been calculated that an ordinary gas- burner requires, to remove entirely all the impurities produced, about 5,000 cubic feet in an hour, or 2^ times as much as a man. We must then reckon two gas-burners as equivalent to five persons in the amount of ventilation they require. A moderate-sized oil-lamp or a candle only contaminates the air one-tenth as much as a gas-burner. It must be evident that very few rooms are con- structed to change the air as much as, on these prin- ciples, it should be changed. In ordinary sitting-rooms, where but few people remain at one time, and where the doors are frequently opened, the fireplace in win- ter, and open windows in summer, are quite sufficient. But what can be the state of workshops, schools, law- courts, theatres, concert-rooms ? what of churches and RESPIRATION. 267 chapels ? It is plain that scarcely any at all approach the proper standard. In buildings used only for an hour or two, the deficiency may be pardoned ; but what is to be said of workshops and factories, where many live for long hours, and are besides hard at work; thus producing, as we know, with all the more ra- pidity, substances which contaminate the air ? The day will come, let us hope, when people will look back with astonishment and horror on the cruel ignorance of the present day. Look again at sleeping-rooms. We know that though the air is less contaminated during sleep, there is all the greater need of oxygen ; since, too, there is no opening of doors, or going in and out during the night, there should be all the more care taken to have a con- stant change of air. Yet people will shut up every crevice in a small bedroom, and go to sleep, flattering themselves that if it is warm it must be healthy. Closely connected with the question of the supply of fresh air is that of the size of rooms. The amount of space allowed to each man in barracks is now 600 cubic feet, and in hospitals twice that amount. This is equal to a small room measuring 8^ feet every way, in height, width, and length. There is little doubt, however, that it should be more, and 800 feet would not be too much. This gives a room eight feet high, 268 PHYSIOLOGY FOR PRACTICAL USE. and ten feet in each of its other dimensions. These numbers apply especially to sleeping-rooms, but quite as much space is necessary in day-rooms, if they are occupied for many hours together, as are workshops or schools. So far are ordinary buildings from fulfilling these conditions, that we must be prepared for a little in- credulity as to the necessity for them. It may be said that if this be the case, no one can be in good health. Now the real state of the case probably is, that well- to-do people living in good-sized rooms, which are very rarely crowded, do not, as a rule, suffer from insufficient supply of air ; but in the crowded dwellings of the poor, and quite as much in shops, milliners' workrooms, and so forth, the amount of disease and ill health thus produced is enormous. One good in- stance is worth a hundred statements of opinion; and so we will just quote authentic documents relating to the prevalence in the English army of certain diseases as, for instance, consumption which are known to be especially encouraged by impure air. In former years, barracks were built without any regard to the health of the soldier, and combined almost every pos- sible deficiency in the supply and distribution of fresh air. Since the year 1859, an entirely new system has been in force. The new barracks are built with a pro- RESPIRATION. 269 per regard to ventilation, and the old ones have been much improved. The effect in the general mortality, and especially in diminishing the ravages of this class of diseases, is most extraordinary. Formerly, con- sumption and similar diseases caused more than half the whole number of deaths; the proportion is now just about one-third. When we take into account the fact that deaths from all diseases in the army are scarcely half as numerous as formerly, the gain to human life will seem still more extraordinary. All European armies formerly suffered much in the same way, and some do so still ; but in most similar reforms have lately been introduced. It should be remembered that these facts refer, in the case of the English army, not only to cities and unhealthy stations, but to some of the most splendid climates in the world, where the only circumstance tending to produce consumption was the bad construction of the barracks. This instance is quite enough to show that active habits and sufficient food and healthy climate are not enough to prevent such diseases, if the rooms in which we live, and es- pecially those in which we sleep, do not give us a proper supply of air to feed the ever-burning fire within us. June, 1876. AN ALPHABETICAL LIST OF HENRY S. KING & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. 6$ Cornhill, and i Paternoster Square, London, June, i8y6. A LIST OF HENRY S. KING & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. ABBEY (Henry). BALLADS OF GOOD DEEDS, AND OTHER VEESES. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth gilt, price 5s. ADAMS (A. L.), M.A. FIELD AND FOREST RAMBLES OF A NATURALIST IN NEW BRUNSWICK. With Notes and Observations on the Natural History of Eastern Canada. Illustrated. 8vo. Cloth, price Hs. ADAMS (F. 0.), H.B.M.'s Secretary of Embassy at Paris, formerly H.B.M.'s Charge d' Affaires, and Secretary of Legation at Yedo. THE HISTORY OF JAPAN. From the Earliest Period to the Present Time. New Edition, revised. In 2 vols. With Maps and Plans. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 21. each. ADAMS (W. Davenport, Jun.) LYRICS OF LOVE, from Shakespeare to Tennyson. Selected and arranged by. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth extra, gilt edges, price 3. 6cZ. ADON. THROUGH STORM AND SUNSHINE. Illustrated by M. E. Edwards, A. T. H. Paterson, and the Author. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 7*. 6d. A. K. H. B. A SCOTCH COMMUNION SUNDAY, to which are added Cer- tain Discourses from a University City. By the Author of "The Eecreations of a Country Parson." Second Edition. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 5. 4 A List of ALLEN (Kev. R), M.A. ABRAHAM : HIS LIFE, TIMES, AND TEAVELS, as told by a Contemporary 3800 years ago. With Map. Post 8vo. Cloth, price 10s. 6d. AMOS (Professor Sheldon). THE SCIENCE OF LAW. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. Vol. X. of the International Scientific Series. ANDEKSON (Kev. Charles), M.A. NEW READINGS OF OLD PARABLES. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 4s. 6d. CHURCH THOUGHT AND CHURCH WORK. Edited by. Con- taining articles by the Revs. J. M. Capes, Professor Cheetham, J. LI. Davis, Harry Jones, Brooke, Lambert, A. J. Ross, the Editor, and others. Second Edition. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price Is. Qd. WORDS AND WORKS IN A LONDON PARISH. Edited by. Second Edition. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. THE CURATE OF SHYRE. Second Edition. 8vo. Cloth, price 7s. 6d. ANDERSON (Colonel E. P.) VICTORIES AND DEFEATS. An Attempt to explain the Causes which have led to them. An Officer's Manual. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 14s. ANDERSON (R C.), C.E. TABLES FOR FACILITATING THE CALCULATION OF EVERY DETAIL IN CONNECTION WITH EARTHEN AND MASONRY DAMS. Royal 8vo. Cloth, price 2 2s. ANSON (Lieut.-Col. The Hon. A.), V.C., M.P. THE ABOLITION OF PURCHASE AND THE ARMY REGU- LATION BILL OF 1871. Crown 8vo. Sewed, price Is. ARMY RESERVES AND MILITIA REFORMS. Crown 8vo. Sewed, price Is. THE STORY OF THE SUPERSESSIONS. Crown 8vo. Sewed, price 6d. ARCHER (Thomas). ABOUT MY FATHER'S BUSINESS. Work amidst the Sick, the Sad, and the Sorrowing. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. ARGYLE (Duke of). SPEECHES ON THE SECOND READING OF THE CHURCH PATRONAGE (SCOTLAND) BILL IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS, June 2, 1874; and Earl of Camperdown's Amendment, June 9, 1874, placing the Election of Ministers in the hands of Rate- payers. Crown 8vo. Sewed, price Is. Henry S. King & Co.'s Publications. ARMY OF THE NORTH GERMAN CONFEDERATION. A Brief Description of its Organization, of the Different Branches of the Service and their role in War, of its Mode of Fighting, etc., etc. Translated from the Corrected Edition, by permission of the author, by Colonel Edward Newdegate. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. ASHANTEE WAR (The). A Popular Narrative. By the Special Correspondent of the Daily News. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. ASHTON (John). ROUGH NOTES OF A VISIT TO BELGIUM, SEDAN, AND PARIS, in September, 1870-71. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. AUNT MARY'S BRAN PIE. By the author of "St. Glare's," "When I was a Little Girl," etc. Illustrated. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. SUNNYLAND STOEIES. Illustrated. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. AURORA. A Volume of Verse. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. AYRTON (J. C.) A SCOTCH WOOING. 2 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. BAGEHOT (Walter). PHYSICS AND POLITICS ; or, Thoughts on the Application of the Principles of " Natural Selection " and " Inheritance " to Political Society. Third Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 4. Vol. II. of the International Scientific Series. THE ENGLISH CONSTITUTION. A New Edition, Revised and Corrected, with an Introductory Dissertation on Recent Changes and Events. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price Is. 6d. LOMBARD STREET. A Description of the Money Market. Sixth Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 7s. 6d. BAIN (Alexander), LL.D. MIND AND BODY. The Theories of their Relation. Fifth Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 4*. Vol. IV. of the International Scientific Series. BANKS (Mrs. G. Linnaeus). GOD'S PROVIDENCE HOUSE. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. Qd. BARING (T. C.), M.P., late Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford. PINDAR IN ENGLISH RHYME. Being an Attempt to render the Epinikian Odes with the principal remaining Fragments of Pindar into English Rhymed Verse. Small quarto. Cloth, price 7s. 6 A List of BAELEE (Ellen). LOCKED OUT; A Tale of the Strike. With a Frontispiece. Cloth, price Is. Qd. BAYNES (Eev. Canon E. H.), Editor of "Lyra Angli- cana," etc. HOME SONGS FOR QUIET HOUES. Second Edition. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth extra, price 3s. 6d. ** This may also be had handsomely bound in Morocco with gilt edges. BECKER (Bernard H.) THE SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES OF LONDON. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. BENNETT (Dr. W. C.) SONGS FOR SAILORS. Dedicated by Special Request to H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh. With Steel Portrait and Illustrations. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. Qd. An Edition in Illustrated Paper Covers, price Is. BABY MAY. HOME POEMS AND BALLADS. With Frontis- piece. Crown 8vo. Cloth elegant, price 6s. BABY MAY AND HOME POEMS. Fcap. 8vo. Sewed in Coloured Wrapper, price Is. NARRATIVE POEMS AND BALLADS. Fcap. 8vo. Sewed in Coloured Wrapper, price 1. BENNIE (Kev. Jas. Noble), M.A. THE ETERNAL LIFE. Sermons preached during the last twelve years. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. BERNARD (Bayle). SAMUEL LOVER, THE LIFE AND UNPUBLISHED WORKS OF. In 2 vols. With a Steel Portrait. Post 8vo. Cloth, price 21s. BERNSTEIN (Professor), of the University of Halle. THE FIVE SENSES OF MAN. With 91 Illustrations. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. Vol. XXI. of the International Scientific Series. BETHAM-EDWARDS (Miss M.) KITTY. With a Frontispiece. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. Qd. MADEMOISELLE JOSEPHINE'S FRIDAYS, AND OTHER STORIES. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price Is. Qd. BlSCOE (A. C.) THE EARLS OF MIDDLETON, Lords of Clermont and of Fettercairn, and the Middleton Family. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 10s. Qd. Henry S. King & Co.'s Publications. BLANC (Henry), M.D. CHOLERA : HOW TO AVOID AND TREAT IT. Popular and Practical Notes. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 4s. Qd. BLUME (Major William). THE OPERATIONS OF THE GERMAN ARMIES IN FRANCE, from Sedan to the end of the war of 1870-71. With Map. From the Journals of the Head-quarters Staff. Translated by the late E. M. Jones, Maj. 20th Foot, Prof, of Mil. Hist., Sandhurst. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 9s. BOGUSLAWSKI (Captain A. von). TACTICAL DEDUCTIONS FROM THE WAR OF 1870-71. Translated by Colonel Sir Lumley Graham, Bart., late 18th (Royal Irish) Regiment. Third Edition, Revised and Corrected. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price Is. BONWICK (James). THE TASMANIAN LILY. With Frontispiece. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. MIKE HOWE, THE BUSHRANGER OF VAN DIEMEN'S LAND. With Frontispiece. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. BOSWELL (E. B.), M.A., Oxon. METRICAL TRANSLATIONS FROM THE GREEK AND LATIN POETS, and other Poems. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5. BOTHMER (Countess Yon). CRUEL AS THE GRAVE. A Novel. 3 vols. Cloth. BOWEN (H. C.), English Master Middle-Class City School, Covvper Street. STUDIES IN ENGLISH, for the use of Modern Schools. Small Crown Svo. Cloth, price Is. 6d. BOWRING (L.), C.S.I., Lord Canning's Private Secretary, and for many years Chief Commissioner of Mysore and Coorg. EASTERN EXPERIENCES. Illustrated with Maps and Diagrams. Demy Svo. Cloth, price 16s. BRAVE MEN'S FOOTSTEPS. By the Editor of " Men who have Risen." A Book of Example and Anecdote for Young People. With Four Illustrations by C. Doyle. Third Edition. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. BRIALMONT (Colonel A.) HASTY INTRENCHMENTS. Translated by Lieut. Charles A. Empsom, R.A. With nine Plates. Demy Svo. Cloth, price Gs. 8 A List of BEIEFS AND PAPERS. Being Sketches of the Bar and the Press. By Two Idle Apprentices. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 7s. 6d. BROOKE (Eev. James M. S.), M. A. HEART, BE STILL. A Sermon preached in Holy Trinity Church, Southall. Impl. 32mo. Sewed, price Qd. BROOKE (Eev. Stopford A.), M.A., Chaplain in Ordinary to Her Majesty the Queen. THE LATE REV. F. W. ROBERTSON, M.A., LIFE AND LETTERS OF. Edited by Stopford Brooke, M.A. I. In 2 vols., uniform with the Sermons. Steel Portrait. Price 7s. 6d. II. Library Edition. 8vo. Two Steel Portraits. Price 12s. III. A Popular Edition, in 1 vol. 8vo. Price 6s. THEOLOGY IN THE ENGLISH POETS. COWER, COLERIDGE, WORDSWORTH, and BURNS. Third Edition. Post 8vo. Cloth, price 9. CHRIST IN MODERN LIFE. Ninth Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 7s. 6d. FREEDOM IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. Six Sermons suggested by the Voysey Judgment. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. SERMONS. First Series. Ninth Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6. SERMONS. Second Series. Third Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 7. FREDERICK DENISON MAURICE: The Life and Work of. A Memorial Sermon. Crown 8vo. Sewed, price Is. BROOKE (W. G.), M.A., Barrister-at-Law. THE PUBLIC WORSHIP REGULATION ACT. With a Classified Statement of its Provisions, Notes, and Index. Third Edition, revised and corrected. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. Qd. SIX PRIVY COUNCIL JUDGMENTS 1850-1872. Annotated by. Third Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 9s. BROWN (Kev. J. Baldwin), B.A. THE HIGHER LIFE. Its Keality, Experience, and Destiny. Fourth Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 7s. 6d. THE DOCTRINE OF ANNIHILATION IN THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL OF LOVE. Five Discourses. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 2s. 6d. Henry S. King & Go's Publications. BROWN (John Croumbie), LLD., etc. REBOISEMENT IN FRANCE ; or, Records of the Replanting of the Alps, the Cevennes, and the Pyrenees with Trees, Herbage, and Bush. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 12s. 6d. THE HYDROLOGY OF SOUTHERN AFRICA. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 10s. 6d. BROWNE (Eev. Marmaduke E.) UNTIL THE DAY DAWN. Four Advent Lectures delivered in the Episcopal Chapel, Milverton, Warwickshire, on the Sunday evenings during Advent, 1870. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 2s. Gd. BRYANT (William Cullen). POEMS. Red-line Edition. With 24 Illustrations and Portrait of the Author. Post 8vo. Cloth extra, price Is. 6d. A Cheaper Edition, with Frontispiece. Post 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. Qd. BUCHANAN (Eobert). POETICAL WORKS. Collected Edition, in 3 Vols., with Portrait. Price 6s. each. CONTENTS OP THE VOLUMES. I. " Ballads and Romances." II. " Ballads and Poems of Life." III. " Cruiskeen Sonnets ; " and " Book of Orm." MASTER-SPIRITS. Post 8vo. Cloth, price 10s. 6d. BULKELEY (Rev. Henry J.) WALLED IN, and other Poems. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. BUNNETT (F. E.) LEONORA CHRISTINA, MEMOIRS OF, Daughter of Christian IV. of Denmark ; Written during her Imprisonment in the Blue Tower of the Royal Palace at Copenhagen, 1663-1685. Trans- lated by F. E. Bunnett. With an Autotype Portrait of the Princess. A New and Cheaper Edition. Medium 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. LINKED AT LAST. 1 vol. Crown 8vo. Cloth. UNDER A CLOUD ; OR, JOHANNES OLAF. By E. D. Wille. Translated by F. E. Bunnett. 3 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. BURTON (Mrs. Richard). THE INNER LIFE OF SYRIA, PALESTINE, AND THE HOLY LAND. 2 vols. Second Edition. Demy Svo. Cloth, price 24s. BUTLER (Josephine E.) JOHN GREY (of Dilston) : MEMOIRS. By his Daughter. New and Cheaper Edition. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 3s. 6ci. 10 A List of CADELL (Mrs. H. M.) IDA CEAVEN : A Novel. 2 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. CALDERON. CALDERON'S DRAMAS : The Wonder- Working Magician- Life is a Dream The Purgatory of St. Patrick. Translated by Denis Florence MacCarthy. Post 8vo. Cloth, price 10s. CARLISLE (A. D.), B.A., Trin. Coll., Camb. ROUND THE WORLD IN 1870. A Volume of Travels, with Maps. New and Cheaper Edition. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 6*. CARNE (Miss E. T.) THE REALM OF TRUTH. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. 6d. CARPENTER (E.) NARCISSUS AND OTHER POEMS. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. CARPENTER (W. B.), LL.D., M.D., F.B.S., etc. THE PRINCIPLES OF MENTAL PHYSIOLOGY. With their Applications to the Training and Discipline of the Mind, and the Study of its Morbid Conditions. Illustrated. 8vo. Fourth Edition. Cloth, price 12s. CARR (Lisle). JUDITH GWYNNE. 3 vols. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth. CHRISTOPHERSON (The late Kev. Henry), M.A., Assistant Minister at Trinity Church, Brighton. SERMONS. With an Introduction by John Eae, LL.D., F.S.A. First Series. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price Is. 6d. SERMONS. With an introduction by John Eae, LL.D., F.S.A. Second Series. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. CLAYTON (Cecil). EFFIE'S GAME; HOW SHE LOST AND HOW SHE WON. A Novel. 2 vols. Cloth. CLERK (Mrs. Godfrey), Author of " The Antipodes and Eound the World." 'ILAM EN NAS. Historical Tales and Anecdotes of the Times of the Early Khalifahs. Translated from the Arabic Originals. Illustrated with Historical and Explanatory Notes. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 7s. CLERY (C.), Captain 32nd Light Infantry, Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General, late Professor of Tactics Koyal Military College, Sandhurst. MINOR TACTICS. With 26 Maps and Plans. Second Edition. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 16s. Henry S. King & Co.'s Publications. 11 CLODD (Edward), F.R.A.S. THE CHILDHOOD OF THE WORLD : a Simple Account of Man in Early Times. Third Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. A Special Edition for Schools. Price Is. THE CHILDHOOD OF RELIGIONS. Including a Simple Account of the Birth and Growth of Myths and Legends. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. COLERIDGE (Sara). PBETTY LESSONS IN VERSE FOE GOOD CHILDREN, with some Lessons in Latin, in Easy Khyme. A New Edition. Illustrated. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. PHANTASMION. A Fairy Romance. With an Introductory Preface by the Eight Hon. Lord Coleridge, of Ottery St. Mary. A New Edition. Illustrated. Cloth, price Is. 6d. MEMOIR AND LETTERS OF SARA COLERIDGE. Edited by her Daughter. Third Edition, Revised and Corrected. With Index. 2 vols. With Two Portraits. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 24s. Cheap Edition. With one Portrait. Cloth, price Is. Qd. COLLINS (Mortimer). THE PRINCESS CLARICE. A Story of 1871. 2 vols. Cloth. SQUIRE SILCHESTER'S WHIM. 3 vols. Cloth. MIRANDA. A Midsummer Madness. 3 vols. Cloth. THE INN OF STRANGE MEETINGS, AND OTHER POEMS. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. THE SECRET OF LONG LIFE. Dedicated by special permission to Lord St. Leonard's. Fourth Edition. Large crown 8vo. Price 5s. COLLINS (Kev. Kichard), M.A. MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE IN THE EAST. With special reference to the Syrian Christians of Malabar, and the results of modern Missions. With Four Illustrations. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. CONGREVE (Richard), M.A., M.E.C.P.L. HUMAN CATHOLICISM. Two Sermons delivered at the Positivist School on the Festival of Humanity, 87 and 88, January 1, 1875 and 1876. Demy 8vo. Sewed, price Is. CONWAY (Moncure D.) REPUBLICAN SUPERSTITIONS. Illustrated by the Political History of the United States. Including a Correspondence with M. Louis Blanc. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. CONYERS (Ansley). CHESTERLEIGH. 3 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. 12 A List of COOKE (M. C.), M.A., LL.D. FUNGI ; their Nature, Influences, Uses, etc. Edited by the Eev. M. J. Berkeley, M.A., F.L.S. With Illustrations. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5. Vol. XIV. of the International Scientific Series. COOKE (Professor Josiah P.), of the Harvard University. THE NEW CHEMISTRY. With Thirty-one Illustrations. Third Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. Vol. IX. of the International Scientific Series. SCIENTIFIC CTTLTTJBE. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 1*. COOPER (T. T.) THE MISHMEE HILLS : an Account of a Journey made in an Attempt to Penetrate Thibet from Assam, to open New Routes for Commerce. Second Edition. With Four Illustrations and Map. Demy 8vo. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 10s. 6d. CORNHILL LIBRARY OF FICTION (The.) Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. per Volume. HALF-A-DOZEN DAUGHTERS. By J. Masterman. THE HOUSE OF RABY. By Mrs. G. Hooper. A FIGHT FOR LIFE. By Moy Thomas. ROBIN GRAY. By Charles Gibbon. KITTY. By Miss M. Betham-Edwards. HIRELL. By John Saunders. ONE OF TWO; OR, THE LEFT-HANDED BRIDE. By J. Hain Friswell. READY-MONEY MORTIBOY. A Matter-of-Fact Story. GOD'S PROVIDENCE HOUSE. By Mrs. G. L. Banks. FOR LACK OF GOLD. By Charles Gibbon. ABEL DRAKE'S WIFE. By John Saunders. CORY (Lieutenant- Colonel Arthur). THE EASTERN MENACE; OR, SHADOWS OF COMING EVENTS. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5*. COSMOS. A Poem. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. SUBJECTS. Nature in the Past and in the Present Man in the Past and in the Present The Future. COTTON (Robert Turner). MR. CARINGTON. A Tale of Love and Conspiracy. 3' vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. CUMMINS (Henry Irwin), M.A. PAROCHIAL CHARITIES OF THE CITY OF LONDON. Sewed, price Is. Henry S. King & Go's Publications. 13 CUR WEN (Henry). SORROW AND SONG: Studies of Literary Struggle. Henry Miirger Novalis Alexander Petofi Honore de Balzac Edgar Allan Poe Andre Che'nier. 2 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 15s. DAVIDSON (Samuel), D.D., LL.D. THE NEW TESTAMENT, TRANSLATED FROM THE LATEST GREEK TEXT OF TISCHENDORF. A new and thoroughly revised Edition. Post 8vo. Cloth, price 10s. 6c?. DAVIES (G-. Christopher). MOUNTAIN, MEADOW, AND MERE: a Series of Outdoor Sketches of Sport, Scenery, Adventures, and Natural History. With Sixteen Illustrations by Bosworth W. Harcourt. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. RAMBLES AND ADVENTURES OF OUR SCHOOL FIELD CLUB. With 4 Illustrations. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. DAVIES (Kev. J. Llewelyn), M.A. THEOLOGY AND MORALITY. Essays on Questions of Belief and Practice. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 7s. 6(7. D'ANVERS (N. E.) THE SUEZ CANAL : Letters and Documents descriptive of its Rise and Progress. By Ferdinand de Lesseps. Translated by N. D'Anvers. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 10s. Qd. LITTLE MINNIE'S TROUBLES. An Every-day Chronicle. Illustrated by W. H. Hughes. Fcap. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. DANCE (Eev. Charles Daniel). RECOLLECTIONS OF FOUR YEARS IN VENEZUELA. With Three Illustrations and a Map. Crown Svo. Cloth, price Is. 6d. DE KERKADEC (Vicomtesse Solange). A CHEQUERED LIFE, being Memoirs of the Vicomtesse de Leoville Meilhan. Edited by. Crown Svo. Cloth, price Is. 6d. DE L'HosTE (Colonel E. P). THE DESERT PASTOR, JEAN JAROUSSEAU. Translated from the French of Eugene Pelletan. With a Frontispiece. New Edition. Fcap. Svo. Price 3s. 6d. DE REDCLIFFE (Viscount Stratford), P.C., KG., G.C.B. WHY AM I A CHRISTIAN? Fifth Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3g. 14 A List of DE TOCQUEVILLE (Alexis). CORRESPONDENCE AND CONVERSATIONS OF, WITH NASSAU WILLIAM SENIOR. 2 vola. Post 8vo. Cloth, price 21s. DE VEEE (Aubrey). ST. THOMAS OF CANTERBURY. A Dramatic Poem. Large fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. ALEXANDER THE GREAT. A Dramatic Poem. Small crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. THE INFANT BRIDAL, AND OTHER POEMS. A New and Enlarged Edition. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price Is. 6d. THE LEGENDS OF ST. PATRICK, AND OTHER POEMS. SmalL crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. DE WELLE (E.) TINDER A CLOUD; OR, JOHANNES OLAF. A Novel. Translated by F. E. Bunnett. 3 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. DENNIS (John). ENGLISH SONNETS. Collected and Arranged. Elegantly bound. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. DOBSON (Austin). VIGNETTES IN RHYME AND VERS DE SOCTETE. Second Edition. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. DONNE (Alphonse), M.D. CHANGE OF AIR AND SCENE. A Physician's Hints about Doctors, Patients, Hygiene, and Society ; with Notes of Excur- sions for Health in the Pyrenees, and amongst the "Watering- places of France (Inland and Seaward), Switzerland, Corsica, and the Mediterranean. A New Edition. Large post 8vo. Cloth, price 9s. DOWDEN (Edward), LL.D. SHAKSPERE : a Critical Study of his Mind and Art. Second Edition. Post 8vo. Cloth, price 12s. DOWNTON (Eev. Henry), M.A. HYMNS AND VERSES. Original and Translated. Small crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. DRAPER . (John William), M.D., LL.D. Professor in the University of New York ; Author of "A Treatise on Human Physiology." HISTORY OF THE CONFLICT BETWEEN RELIGION AND SCIENCE. Seventh Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. Vol. XTTT. of the International Scientific Series. Henry S. King & Co.' 8 Publications. 15 DREW (Kev. G. S.), M.A., Vicar of Trinity, Lambeth. SCRIPTUBE LANDS IN CONNECTION WITH THEIB HISTORY. Second Edition. Svo. Cloth, price 10s. 6d. NAZARETH: ITS LIFE AND LESSONS. Third Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. THE DIVINE KINGDOM ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN. 8vo. Cloth, price 10. Qd. THE SON OF MAN : His Life and Ministry. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 7*. 6d. DEEWRY (G. Overend), M.D. THE COMMON-SENSE MANAGEMENT OF THE STOMACH. Third Edition. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 2s. 6d. CUP AND PLATTER; OR, NOTES ON FOOD AND ITS EFFECTS. By G. O. Drewry, M.D., Author of " The Common- Sense Management of the Stomach," and H. C. Bartlett, Ph.D., F.C.S. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 2s. Qd. DURAND (Lady). IMITATIONS FROM THE GERMAN OF SPITTA AND TERSTEGEN. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 4*. Du VERNOIS (Colonel von Yerdy). STUDIES IN LEADING TROOPS. An authorized and accurate Translation by Lieutenant H. J. T. Hildyard, 71st Foot. Parts I. and II. Demy Svo. Cloth, price 7. E. A. V. JOSEPH MAZZINI : A Memoir. With Two Essays by Mazzini " Thoughts on Democracy," and " The Duties of Man." Dedicated to the Working Classes by P. H. Taylor, M.P. "With Two Portraits. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. EDEN (Frederic). THE NILE WITHOUT A DRAGOMAN. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 7s. 6d. EDWARDS (Rev. Basil). MINOR CHORDS; OR, SONGS FOR THE SUFFERING: a Volume of Verse. Fcap. Svo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d.; paper, price 2s. 6d. EILOART (Mrs.) LADY MORETOUN'S DAUGHTER. 3 vols. Crown Svo. ENGLISH CLERGYMAN. AN ESSAY ON THE RULE OF FAITH AND CREED OF ATHANASIUS. Shall the Rubric preceding the Creed be removed from the Prayer-book ? Sewed. Svo. Price 1. 16 A List of EBOS AGONISTES. Poems. By E. B. D. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 3?. ESSAYS ON THE ENDOWMENT OF KESEAECH. By Various Writers. LIST OF CONTEIBfTORS. MARK PATTISON, B.D. JAMES S. COTTON, B.A. CHARLES E. APPLETON, D.C.L. ARCHIBALD H. SAYCE, M.A. HENRY CLIFTON SORBY, F.R.S. THOMAS K. CHEYNE, M.A. W. T. THISTELTON DYER, M.A. HENRY NETTLESHIP, M.A. Square crown octavo. Cloth, price 10s. 6d. EVANS (Mark). THE STOEY OF OUR FATHER'S LOVE, told to Children; being a New and Enlarged Edition of THEOLOGY FOR CHILDREN. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. Qd. A BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER AND WORSHIP FOR HOUSEHOLD USE, compiled exclusively from the Holy Scrip- tures. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 2s. 6d. EYEE (Maj.-Gen. Sir Vincent), C.B., K.C.S.I., etc. LAYS OF A KNIGHT-ERRANT IN MANY LANDS. Square crown 8vo. With Six Illustrations. Cloth, price Is. 6d. FAITHFULL (Mrs. Francis G.) LOVE ME, OR LOVE ME NOT. 3 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. FAEQUHARSON (Martha). I. ELSIE DINSMORE. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. II. ELSIE'S GIRLHOOD. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. III. ELSIE'S HOLIDAYS AT ROSELANDS. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. FAVEE (Mons. Jules). THE GOVERNMENT OF THE NATIONAL DEFENCE. From the 30th June to the 31st October, 1870. The Plain Statement of a Member. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 10s. 6d. FISHEE (Alice). HIS QUEEN. 3 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. FOOTMAN (Eev. Henry). FROM HOME AND BACK ; or, some Aspects of Sin as Seen in the Light of the Parable of the Prodigal. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5. FORBES (Archibald). SOLDIERING AND SCRIBBLING. A Series of Sketches. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 7s. 6d. FOTHEEGILL (JESSIE). HEALEY. A Komance. 3 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. Henry S. King & Co.'s Publications. 17 FOWLS (Eev. T. W.), M.A. THE RECONCILIATION OF RELIGION AND SCIENCE. Being Essays on Immortality, Inspiration, Miracles, and the Being of Christ. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 10s. 6d. FOX-BOURNE (H. E.) THE LIFE OF JOHN LOCKE, 16321704. 2 vols. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 28s. FBASEE (Donald), Accountant to the British-Indian Steam Navigation Company, Limited. EXCHANGE TABLES OF STERLING AND INDIAN RUPEE CURRENCY, upon a new and extended system, embracing Values from One Farthing to One Hundred Thousand Pounds, and at Eates progressing, in Sixteenths of a Penny, from Is. 9d. to 2s. 3d. per Rupee. Eoyal 8vo. Cloth, price 10s. 6d. FEEEE (Sir H. Bartle E.), G.C.B., G.C.S.L, etc. THE THREATENED FAMINE IN BENGAL : How it may be Met, and the Eecurrence of Famines in India Prevented. Being No. 1 of " Occasional Notes on Indian Affairs." With 3 Maps. Crown 8vo. Price 5s. FEISWELL (J. Hain). THE BETTER SELF. Essays for Home Life. Crown 8vo. Price Gs. ONE OF TWO; OR, THE LEFT-HANDED BRIDE. With a Frontispiece. Crown Svo. Price 3s. 6d. GARDNER (John), M.D. LONGEVITY; THE MEANS OF PROLONGING LIFE AFTER MIDDLE AGE. Third Edition, revised and" enlarged. Small crown Svo. Cloth, price 4s. GARDNER (Herbert). SUNFLOWERS. A Book of Verses. Fcap. Svo. Cloth, price 5s. GAEEETT (Edward). BY STILL WATERS. A Story for Quiet Hours. With Seven Illustrations. Crown Svo. Cloth, price Us. GIBBON (Charles). FOR LACK OF GOLD. With a Frontispiece. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 3s. Gd. ROBIN GRAY. With a Frontispiece. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. GILBERT (Mrs.) MRS. GILBERT, FORMERLY ANN TAYLOR, AUTOBIO- GRAPHY AND OTHER MEMORIALS OF. Edited by Josiah Gilbert. New and revised Edition. In 2 vols. With 2 Steel Portraits and several Wood Engravings. Post Svo. Cloth, price 2-is. B /. 18 A List of GILL (Rev. W. W.), B.A., of the London Missionary Society. MYTHS AND SONGS FROM THE SOUTH PACIFIC. With a Preface by F. Max Muller, M.A., Professor of Comparative Philology at Oxford. Post 8vo. Cloth, price 9*. GODKIN (James). THE RELIGIOUS HISTORY OF IRELAND : Primitive, Papal, and Protestant. Including the Evangelical Missions, Catholic Agitations, and Church Progress of the last half Century. 8vo. Cloth, price 12s. GODWIN (William). WILLIAM GODWIN: HIS FRIENDS AND CONTEMPO- RARIES. With Portraits and Facsimiles of the handwriting of Godwin and his Wife. By C. Kegan Paul. 2 vols. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 28s. THE GENIUS OF CHRISTIANITY UNVEILED. Being Essays never before published. Edited, with a Preface, by C. Kegan PauL Crown 8vo. Cloth, price It. Qd. GOETZE (Capt. A. von), Captain of the Prussian Corps of Engineers attached to the Engineer Committee, and Instructor at the Military Academy. OPERATIONS OF THE GERMAN ENGINEERS DURING THE WAR OF 1870-1871. Published by Authority, and in accordance with Official Documents. Translated from the German by Colonel G. Graham, V.C., C.B., K.E. With 6 large Maps. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 21. GOODENOUGH (Commodore J. G.), Eoyal Navy, C.B.. C.M.G. JOURNALS OF, during his Last Command as Senior Officer on the Australian Station, 1873-1875. Edited, with a Memoir, by his Widow. With Maps, Woodcuts, and Steel Engraved Portrait. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 14. GOODMAN (Walter). CUBA, THE PEARL OF THE ANTILLES. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 7. 6d. GOSSE (Edmund W.) ON VIOL AND FLUTE. With Title-page specially designed by William B. Scott. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 5*. GOULD (Rev. S. Baring). THE VICAR OF MORWENSTOW : a Memoir of the Rev. B. S. Hawker. With Portrait. Second Edition, revised. Post Svo. Cloth, price 10s. 6d. Henry S. King & Co.'s Publications. 19 GRANVILLE (A. B.), M.D., F.E.S., etc. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A. B. GRANVILLE, F.R.S., etc. Edited, with a brief account of the concluding years of his life, by his youngest Daughter, Paulina B. Granville. 2 vols. With a Portrait. Second Edition. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 32*. GRAY (Mrs. Eussell). LISETTE'S VENTTJEE. A Novel. 2 vols. Crown Svo. Cloth. GREEN (T. Bowden). FRAGMENTS OF THOUGHT. Dedicated by permission to the Poet Laureate. Crown Svo. Cloth, price Is. 6d. GREENWOOD (James), " The Amateur Casual." IN STRANGE COMPANY ; or, The Note Book of a Roving Correspondent. Second Edition. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 6s. GREY (John), of Dilston. JOHN GREY (of Dilston): MEMOIRS. By Josephine E. Butler. New and Cheaper Edition. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. GRIFFITH (Eev. T.), A.M., Prebendary of St. Paul's. STUDIES OF THE DIVINE MASTER. Demy Svo. Cloth, price 12s. GRIFFITHS (Captain Arthur). MEMORIALS OF MILLBANK, AND CHAPTERS IN PRISON HISTORY. With Illustrations. 2 vols. Post Svo. Cloth, price 21s. THE QUEEN'S SHILLING. A Novel. 2 vols. Cloth. GRIMLEY (Rev. H. N.), M.A., Professor of Mathematics in the University of Wales, and Chaplain of Tremadoc Church. TREMADOC SERMONS, chiefly on the Spiritual Body, the Unseen World, and the Divine Humanity. Crown Svo. Cloth, price Is. 6d. GRUNER (M. L.) STUDIES OF BLAST FURNACE PHENOMENA. Translated by L. D. B. Gordon, F.R.S.E., F.G.S. Demy Svo. Cloth, price 7s. 6d. GURNEY (Rev. Archer Thompson). WORDS OF FAITH AND CHEER. A Mission of Instruction and Suggestion. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 6s. FIRST PRINCIPLES IN CHURCH AND STATE. Demy Svo. Sewed, price Is. Gd. 20 A List of HAECKEL (Professor Ernst), of the University of Jena. THE HISTORY OF CREATION. A Popular Account of the Development of the Earth and its Inhabitants, according to the Theories of Kant, Laplace, Lamarck, and Darwin. The Transla- tion revised by Professor E. Ray Lankester, M.A., F.K.S. With Coloured Plates and Genealogical Trees of the various groups of both plants and animals. 2 vols. Post 8vo. Cloth, price 32?. HAECOUET (Capt. A. F. P.) THE SHAKESPEARE ARGOSY: Con taming much of the wealth of Shakespeare's Wisdom and Wit, alphabetically arranged and classified. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. HAWEIS (Rev. H. E.), M.A. SPEECH IN SEASON. Third Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 9. THOUGHTS FOR THE TIMES. Ninth Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 7s. Qd. UNSECTARIAN FAMILY PRAYERS, for Morning and Even- ing for a Week, with short selected passages from the Bible. Square crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. Gd. HAWTHOENE (Julian). BRESSANT. A Romance. 2 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. IDOLATRY. A Romance. 2 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. HAWTHOENE (Nathaniel). NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. A Memoir, with Stories now- first published in this country. By H. A. Page. Post 8vo. Cloth, price Is. 6d. SEPTIMIUS. A Romance. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 9s. HAYMAN (Henry), D.D., late Head Master of Rugby School. RUGBY SCHOOL SERMONS. With an Introductory Essay on the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 7s. 6d. HEATHEEGATE. A Story of Scottish Life and Character. By a New Author. 2 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. HELLWALD (Baron F. Von). THE RUSSIANS IN CENTRAL ASIA. A Critical Examination, down to the present time, of the Geography and History of Central Asia. Translated by Lieut.-Col. Theodore Wirgman, LL.B. In 1 vol. Large post 8vo. With Map. Cloth, price 12s. HELVIG (Captain Hugo). THE OPERATIONS OF THE BAVARIAN ARMY CORPS. Translated by Captain G. S. Schwabe. With Five large Maps. In 2 vols. Demy bvo. Cloth, price 24s. Henry S. King & Co.'s Publications. 21 HINTON (James), late Aural Surgeon to Guy's Hospital. THE PLACE OF THE PHYSICIAN. Being the Introductory Lecture at Guy's Hospital, 1S73-74 ; to which is added ESSAYS ox THE LAW OP HVMAN LIFE, AND ON THE RELATION BETWEEN ORGANIC AND INORGANIC WORLDS. Second Edition. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 3s. Qd. PHYSIOLOGY FOE PRACTICAL USE. By various Writers. With 50 Illustrations. 2 vols. Second Edition. Crown Svo. Price 12s. 6d. AN ATLAS OF DISEASES OF THE MEMBRANA TYMPANI. With Descriptive Text. Post Svo. Price 6 6s. THE QUESTIONS OF AURAL SURGERY. With Illustra- tions. 2 vols. Post Svo. Cloth, price 12s. 6d. H. J. C. THE ART OF FURNISHING. A Popular Treatise on the Principles of Furnishing, based on the Laws of Common Sense, Requirement, and Picturesque Effect. Small crown Svo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. HOCKLEY (W. B.) TALES OF THE ZENANA; or, A Nuwab's Leisure Hours. By the Author of " Pandurang Hari." With a Preface by Lord Stanley of Alderley. 2 vols. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 2is. PANDURANG HARI ; or, Memoirs of a Hindoo. A Tale of Mahratta Life sixty years ago. With a Preface by Sir H. Bartle E. Frere, G.C.S.I., etc. 2 vols. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 21. HOFFBATTER (Captain). THE GERMAN ARTILLERY IN THE BATTLES NEAR METZ. Based on the official reports of the German Artillery. Translated by Capt. E. O. Hollist. With Map and Plans. Demy Svo. Cloth, price 21s. HOGAN, M.P. A Novel. 3 vols. Crown Svo. Cloth. HOLMES (Edmond G. A.) POEMS. Fcap. Svo. Price 5s. HOLROYD (Major W. E. M.), Bengal Staff Corps, Director of Public Instruction, Punjab. TAS-HIL UL KALAM; or, Hindustani made Easy. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 5s. HOPE (Lieut. James). IN QUEST OF COOLIES. With Illustrations. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 6s. HOOPER (Mrs. G.) THE HOUSE OF RABY. With a Frontispiece. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 3s. 6c?. 22 A List of INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC SERIES (The). I. THE FORMS OF WATER IN CLOUDS AND RIVERS, ICE AND GLACIERS. By J. Tyndall, LL.D., F.K.S. With 14 Illustrations. Sixth Edition. 5s. II. PHYSICS AND POLITICS ; or, Thoughts on the Application of the Principles of " Natural Selection " and " Inheritance " to Political Society. By Walter Bagehot. Third Edition. 4s. III. FOODS. By Edward Smith, M.D., LL.B., F.K.S. Profusely Illustrated. Fourth Edition. 5s. IV. MIND AND BODY: The Theories of their Gelation. By Alexander Bain, LL.D. With Four Illustrations. Fifth Edition. 4s. V. THE STUDY OF SOCIOLOGY. By Herbert Spencer. Fifth Edition. 5s. VI. ON THE CONSERVATION OF ENERGY. By Balfour Stewart, M.D., LL.D., F.K.S. With 14 Engravings. Third Edition. 5. VII. ANIMAL LOCOMOTION ; or, Walking, Swimming, and Flying By J. B. Pettigrew, M.D., F.R.S. With 130 Illustrations. Second Edition. 5s. VIII. RESPONSIBILITY IN MENTAL DISEASE. By Henry Maudsley, M.D. Second Edition. 5s. IX. THE NEW CHEMISTRY. By Professor J. P. Cooke, of the Harvard University. With 31 Illustrations. Third Edition. 5s. X. THE SCIENCE OF LAW. By Professor Sheldon Amos. Second Edition. 5s. XI. ANIMAL MECHANISM. A Treatise on Terrestrial and Aerial Locomotion. By Professor E. J. Marey. With 117 Illus- trations. Second Edition. 5s. Henry S. King & Go's Publications. 23 INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC SEKIES (The). Continued. XII. THE DOCTRINE OF DESCENT AND DARWINISM. By Professor Oscar Schmidt (Strasburg University). With 26 Illustrations. Third Edition. 5s. XIII. THE HISTORY OF THE CONFLICT BETWEEN RELIGION AND SCIENCE. By Professor J. W. Draper, LL.D. Seventh Edition. 5s. XIV. FUNGI ; their Nature, Influences, Uses, etc. By M. C. Cooke, M.A., LL.D. Edited by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, M.A., F.L.S. With numerous Illustrations. Second Edition. 5s. XV. THE CHEMICAL EFFECTS OF LIGHT AND PHOTOGRAPHY. By Dr. Hermann Vogel (Polytechnic Academy of Berlin). Translation thoroughly revised. With 100 Illustrations. Third Edition. 5s. XVI. THE LIFE AND GROWTH OF LANGUAGE. By William Dwight Whitney, Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Philology in Yale College, New Haven. Second Edition. 5. XVII. MONEY AND THE MECHANISM OF EXCHANGE. By W. Stanley Jevons, M.A., F.K.S. Second Edition. 5s. XVIII. THE NATURE OF LIGHT : With a General Account of Physical Optics. By Dr. Eugene Lommel, Professor of Physics in the University of Erlangen. With 188 Illus- trations and a table of Spectra in Chromolithography. Second Edition. 5s. XIX. ANIMAL PARASITES AND MESSMATES. By Monsieur Van Beneden, Professor of the University of Louvain, Cor- respondent of the Institute of France. With 83 Illus- trations. Second Edition. 5s. XX. FERMENTATION. By Professor Schiitzenberger, Director of the Chemical Laboratory at the Sorbonne. Second Edition. 5s. XXI. THE FIVE SENSES OF MAN. By Professor Bernstein, of the University of Halle. With 91 Illustrations. Second Edition. 5s. 24 A List of INTEENATIONAL SCIENTIFIC SEKIES (The). Forthcoming Volumes. Prof. TV. KINGDON CLIFFORD, M.A. The First Principles of the Exact Sciences explained to the Non-mathematical. Prof. T. H. HUXLEY, LL.D., F.E.S. Bodily Motion and Consciousness. Dr. TV. B. CARPENTER, LL.D., F.K.S. The Physical Geography of the Sea. Prof. WILLIAM ODLING, F.E.S. The Old Chemistry viewed from the New Standpoint. W. LATJDER LINDSAY, M.D., F.E.S.E. Mind in the Lower Animals. Sir JOHN LUBBOCK, Bart., F.E.S. On Ants and Bees. Prof. W. T. THISELTON DYER, B.A., B.Sc. Form and Habit in Flowering Plants. Mr. J. N. LOCKYER, F.E.S. Spectrum Analysis. Prof. MICHAEL FOSTER, M.D. Protoplasm and the Cell Theory. H. CHARLTON BASTIAN, M.D., F.E.S. The Brain as an Organ of Mind. Prof. A. C. RAMSAY, LL.D., F.E.S. Earth Sculpture: Hills, Valleys, Mountains, Plains, Eivers, Lakes; how they were Pro- duced, and how they have been Destroyed. Prof. ECDOLPH VIRCHOW (Berlin Univ.) Morbid Physiological Action. Prof. CLATHJE BERNARD. History of the Theories of Life. Prof. H. SAINTE-CLAIRE DEVILLE. An Introduction to General Chemistry. Prof. TVrRTZ. Atoms and the Atomic Theory. Prof. LACAZE-DUTHIERS. Zoology since Cuvier. Prof. BERTHELOT. Chemical Synthesis. Henry S. King & Co.'s Publications. 25 INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC SERIES (The). Continued. (Forthcoming Volumes.) Prof. J. BOSENTHAL. General Physiology of Muscles and Nerves. Prof. JAMES D. DANA, M.A., LL.D. On Cephalization ; or, Head- Characters in the Gradation and Progress of Life. Prof. S. W. JOHNSON, M.A. On the Nutrition of Plants. Prof. AUSTIN FLINT, Jr. M.D. The Nervous System, and its Eelation to the Bodily Functions. Prof. FERDINAND COHN (Breslau Univ.) Thallophytes (Alga?, Lichens, Fungi). Prof. HERMANN (University of Zurich). Bespiration. Prof. LEUCKABT (University of Leipsic). Outlines of Animal Organization. Prof. LIEBREICH (University of Berlin). Outlines of Toxicology. Prof. KUNDT (University of Strasburg). On Sound. Prof. BEES (University of Erlangen). On Parasitic Plants. Prof. STEIXTHAL (University of Berlin). Outlines of the Science of Language. P. BERT (Professor of Physiology, Paris). Forms of Life and other Cosmical Conditions. E. ALGLAVE (Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law at Douai, and of Political Economy at Lille). The Primitive Elements of Political Constitutions. P. LORAIN (Professor of Medicine, Paris). Modern Epidemics. Mons. FREIDEL. The Functions of Organic Chemistry. Mons. DEBRAY. Precious Metals. Prof. CORFIELD, M.A., M.D. (Oxon.) Air in its relation to Health. Prof. A. GIARD. General Embryology. 26 A List of HOOPER (Mary). LITTLE DINNERS: HOW TO SERVE THEM WITH ELEGANCE AND ECONOMY. Tenth Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. COOKERY FOE INVALIDS, PERSONS OF DELICATE DIGESTION, AND CHILDREN. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. HOPKINS (Manley). THE PORT OF REFUGE ; or, Counsel and Aid to Shipmasters in Difficulty, Doubt, or Distress. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. HOWARD (Mary M.), Author of " Brampton Kectory." BEATRICE AYLMER, AND OTHER TALES. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. HOWARD (Rev. GL B.) AN OLD LEGEND OF ST. PAUL'S. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 4. 6d. Ho WELL (James). A TALE OF THE SEA, SONNETS, AND OTHER POEMS. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. HUGHES (Allison). PENELOPE, AND OTHER POEMS. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price is. 6d. HULL (Edmund C. P.) THE EUROPEAN IN INDIA. A Handbook of Practical In- formation for those proceeding to, or residing in, the East Indies, relating to Outfits, Routes, Time for Departure, Indian Climate, etc. With a MEDICAL GUIDE FOR ANGLO-INDIANS. By R. R. S. Mair, M.D., F.R.C.S.E., late Deputy Coroner of Madras. Second Edition, Revised and Corrected. Post Svo. Cloth, price 6s. HUMPHREY (Rev. W.), of the Congregation of the Oblates of St. Charles. MR. FITZJAMES STEPHEN AND CARDINAL BELLARMINE. Demy Svo. Sewed, price Is. HUTTON (James). MISSIONARY LIFE IN THE SOUTHERN SEAS. With Illus- trations. Crown Svo. Cloth, price Is. 6d. IGNOTUS. CULMSHIRE FOLK. A Novel. New and Cheaper Edition. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 6s. Henry S. King & Go's Publications. 27 INGELOW (Jean). THE LITTLE WONDER-HORN. A Second Series of " Stories Told to a Child." With Fifteen Illustrations. Square 24mo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. OFF THE SKELLIGS. (Her First Komance.) 4 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 42s. JACKSON (T. G.) MODERN GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. JACOB (Maj.-Gen. Sir G. Le Grand), K.C.S.I., C.B. WESTERN INDIA BEFORE AND DURING THE MUTINIES. Pictures drawn from life. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price Is. Qd. JENKINS (E.) and KAYMOND (J.), Esqs. A LEGAL HANDBOOK FOR ARCHITECTS, BUILDERS, AND BUILDING OWNERS. Second Edition Kevised. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. JENKINS (Rev. E. C.), M.A., Eector of Lyminge, and Honorary Canon of Canterbury. THE PRIVILEGE OF PETER, Legally and Historically Ex- amined, and the Claims of the Roman Church compared with the Scriptures, the Councils, and the Testimony of the Popes them- selves. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. JEYONS (W. Stanley), M.A., F.E.S. MONEY AND THE MECHANISM OF EXCHANGE. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. Vol. XVII. of the International Scientific Series. KAUFMANN (Eev. M.), B.A. SOCIALISM : Its Nature, its Dangers, and its Remedies con- sidered. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 7s. 6d. KEATING (Mrs.) HONOR BLAKE : The Story of a Plain Woman. 2 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. KER (David). ON THE ROAD TO KHIVA. Illustrated with Photographs of the Country and its Inhabitants, and a copy of the Official Map in use during the Campaign, from the Survey of Captain Leusiliu. Post 8vo. Cloth, price 12s. THE BOY SLAVE IN BOKHARA. A Tale of Central Asia. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. THE WILD HORSEMAN OF THE PAMPAS. Illustrated. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. 28 A List of KING (Alice). A CLUSTER OF LIVES. Crown Svo. Cloth, price Is. 6d. KING (Mrs. Hamilton). THE DISCIPLES. A New Poem. Second Edition, with some Notes. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price Is. 6d. ASPROMONTE, AND OTHER POEMS. Second Edition. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 4s. 6d. KINGSFORD (Eev. F. TV.), M.A., Vicar of St. Thomas's, Stamford Hill ; late Chaplain H. E. I. C. (Bengal Presidency). HARTHAM CONFERENCES; or, Discussions upon some of the Keligious Topics of the Day. " Audi alteram partem." Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. KNIGHT (Annette F. C.) POEMS. Fcap. Svo. Cloth, price 5. LACORDAIRE (Kev. Pere). LIFE: Conferences delivered at Toulouse. A New and Cheaper Edition. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. LADY OF LIPARI (The). A Poem in Three Cantos. Fcap. Svo. Cloth, price 5s. LAURIE (J. S.), of the Inner Temple, Barrister-at-Law ; formerly H.M. Inspector of Schools, England ; Assistant Royal Commissioner, Ireland ; Special Commissioner, African Settle- ment ; Director of Public Instruction, Ceylon. EDUCATIONAL COURSE OF SECULAR SCHOOL BOOKS FOR INDIA. The following Works are now ready : THE FIRST HINDUSTANI READER. Stiff linen wrapper, price 6d. THE SECOND HINDUSTANI READER. Stiff linen wrapper, price 6d. GEOGRAPHY OF INDIA ; with Maps and Historical Appendix, tracing the growth of the British Empire in Hindustan. 128 pp. fcap. Svo. Cloth, price Is. 6d. LAYMANN (Captain), Instructor of Tactics at the Military College, Keisse. THE FRONTAL ATTACK OF INFANTRY. Translated by Colonel Edward Newdigate. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 2s. 6d. L. D. S. LETTERS FROM CHINA AND JAPAN. With Illustrated Title-page. Crown Svo. Cloth, price Is. Qd. Henry S. King & Oo.'s Publications. 29 LEANDER (Bichard). FANTASTIC STORIES. Translated from the German by Paulina B. Granville. With Eight full-page Illustrations by M. E. Fraser-Tytler. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. LEATHES (Rev. Stanley), M.A. THE GOSPEL ITS OWN WITNESS. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. LEE (Eev. Frederick George), D.C.L. THE OTHER WORLD ; or, Glimpses of the Supernatural. Being Facts, Eecords, and Traditions, relating to Dreams, Omens, Miraculous Occurrences, Apparitions, Wraiths, Warn- ings, Second-sight, Necromancy, Witchcraft, etc. 2 vols. A New Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 15s, LEE (Holme). HER TITLE OF HONOUR. A Book for Girls. New Edition. With a Frontispiece. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5. LENOIR (J). FAYOUM; or, Artists in Egypt. A Tour with M. Gerome and others. With 13 Illustrations. A New and Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. Qd. LEWIS (Mary E). A RAT WITH THREE TALES. With Four Illustrations by Catherine E. Frere. Cloth, price 5s. LlSTADO (J. T.) CIVIL SERVICE. A Novel. 2 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. LOCKER (Frederick). LONDON LYRICS. A New and Eevised Edition, with Additions and a Portrait of the Author. Crown 8vo. Cloth, elegant, price Is. LOMMEL (Dr. Eugene), Professor of Physics in the University of Erlangen. THE NATURE OF LIGHT: With a General Account of Physical Optics. Second Edition. With 188 Illustrations and a table of Spectra in Chromolithography. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. Vol. XVIII. of the International Scientific Series. LORIMER (Peter), D.D. JOHN KNOX AND THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND : His work in her Pulpit and his influence upon her Liturgy, Articles, and Parties. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 12s. 30 A List of LOVER (Samuel), E.H.A. THE LIFE OF SAMUEL LOVER, E.H.A. ; Artistic, Literary, and Musical. With Selections from his Unpublished Papers and Correspondence. By Bayle Bernard. 2 vols. With a Portrait. Post 8vo. Cloth, price 21. LOWER (Mark Antony), M.A., F.S.A. WAYSIDE NOTES IN SCANDINAVIA. Being Notes of Travel in the North of Europe. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 9s. LYONS (E. T.), Surgeon-Major, Bengal Army. A TREATISE ON RELAPSING FEVER. Post 8vo. Cloth, price Is. 6d. MACAULAY (James), M.A., M.D., Edin. THE TRUTH ABOUT IRELAND: Tours of Observation in 1872 and 1875. With Remarks on Irish Public Questions. Being a Second Edition of " Ireland in 1872," with a New and Supplementary Preface. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3. 6d. MAC GARTH Y (Denis Florence). CALDERON'S DRAMAS. Translated from the Spanish. Post 8vo. Cloth, gilt edges, price 10s. MAC DONALD (George). MALCOLM. A Novel. 3 vols. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth. ST. GEORGE AND ST. MICHAEL. 3 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. MAC KENNA (Stephen J.) PLUCKY FELLOWS. A Book for Boys. With Six Illustrations. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. AT SCHOOL WITH AN OLD DRAGOON. With Six Illustra- tions. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. MACLACHLAN (Archibald Neil Campbell), M.A. WILLIAM AUGUSTUS, DUKE OF CUMBERLAND; being a Sketch of his Military Life and Character, chiefly as exhibited in the General Orders of his Royal Highness, 1745 1747. With Illustrations. Post 8vo. Cloth, price 15s. MAIR (E. S.), M.D., F.E.C.S.E., late Deputy Coroner of Madras. THE MEDICAL GUIDE FOR ANGLO-INDIANS. Being a Compendium of Advice to Europeans in India, relating to the Preservation and Regulation of Health. With a Supplement on the Management of Children in India. Crown 8vo. Limp cloth, price 3s. 6d. MANNING (His Eminence Cardinal). ESSAYS ON RELIGION AND LITERATURE. By various Writers. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 10*-. Gd. Henry S. King & Co.'s Publications. 31 MAREY (E. J.) ANIMAL MECHANICS. A Treatise on Terrestrial and Aerial Locomotion. With 117 Illustrations. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. Volume XL of the International Scientific Series. MARKEWITCH (B.) THE NEGLECTED QUESTION. Translated from the Eussian, by the Princess Ourousoff, and dedicated by Express Permission to Her Imperial and Koyal Highness Marie Alexandrovna, the Duchess of Edinburgh. 2 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 14. MARRIOTT (Maj.-Gen. W. F.), C.S.L A GRAMMAR OF POLITICAL ECONOMY. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price Gs. MARSHALL (Hamilton). THE STORY OF SIR EDWARD'S WIFE. A Novel. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 10*. 6d. MASTERMAN (J.) HALF-A-DOZEN DAUGHTERS. With a Frontispiece. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. MAUDSLEY (Dr. Henry). RESPONSIBILITY IN MENTAL DISEASE. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. Vol. VIII. of the International Scientific Series. MAUGHAN (William Charles). THE ALPS OF ARABIA; or, Travels through Egypt, Sinai, Arabia, and the Holy Land. With Map. A New and Cheaper Edition. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. MAURICE (C. Edmund). LIVES OF ENGLISH POPULAR LEADERS. No. 1. STEPHEN LANGTON. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 7s. 6d. No. 2. TYLEK, BALL, and OLDCASTLE. Crown 8vo. Price Is. 6d. MEDLEY (Lieut.-Col. J. G.), Koyal Engineers. AN AUTUMN TOUR IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. MENZIES (Sutherland). MEMOIRS OF DISTINGUISHED WOMEN. Post 8vo. Cloth. ANNE DE BOURBON. THE DUCHESS DE LONGUEVILLE. THE DUCHESS DE CHEVREUSE. PRINCESS PALATINE. MADEMOISELLE DE MOXTPEXSIER. MADAME DE MONTBAZON. THE DUCHESS OF PORTSMOUTH. SARAH JENNINGS. SARAH, DUCHESS OF MARL- BOROUH. 32 A List of MlCKLETHWAITE (J. T.), F.S.A. MODERN PARISH CHURCHES: Their Plan, Design, and Furniture. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price Is. Qd. MILXE (James). TABLES OF EXCHANGE FOR INDIAN AND CEYLON CURRENCY. Second Edition. Post 8vo. Cloth, price 2 2s. MIRUS (Major-General von). CAVALRY FIELD DUTY. Translated by Major Frank S. Eussell, 14th (King's) Hussars. Crown 8vo. Cloth limp, price 7s. Qd. MIVART (St. George), F.E.S. CONTEMPORARY EVOLUTION: Discussing the Theory of Evolution as applied to Science, Art, Religion, and Politics. Post Svo. Cloth, price Is. Qd. MOORE (Kev. Daniel), M.A. CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH. By the author of "The Age and the Gospel: Hulsean Lectures," etc. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. Qd. MOORE (Eev. Thomas), Yicar of Christ Church, Chesham. SERMONETTES : on Synonymous Texts, taken from the Bible and Book of Common Prayer, for the Study, Family Eeading, and Private Devotion. Small Crown Svo. Cloth, price is. Qd. MORELL (J. E.) EUCLID SIMPLIFIED IN METHOD AND LANGUAGE. Being a Manual of Geometry. Compiled from the most important French Works, approved by the University of Paris and the Minister of Public Instruction. Fcap. Svo. Cloth, price 2s. Qd. MORICE (Eev. F. D.), M.A., Fellow of Queen's College, Oxford. THE OLYMPIAN AND PYTHIAN ODES OF PINDAR. A New Translation in English Verse. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 7s. Gd. MORLEY (Susan). AILEEN FERRERS. A Novel. 2 vols. Crown Svo. Cloth. THROSTLETHWAITE. A Novel. 3 vols. Crown Svo. Cloth. Henry S. King & Co.'s Publications. 33 MOESE (Edward S.), Ph. D., late Professor of Com- parative Anatomy and Zoology in Bowdoin College. FIRST BOOK OF ZOOLOGY. With numerous Illustrations. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. MOSTTN (Sydney). PERPLEXITY. A Novel. 3 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. MUSGRAVE (Anthony). STUDIES IN POLITICAL ECONOMY. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. MY SISTER KOSALIND. A Novel. By the Author of " Christiana North," and " Under the Limes." 2 vols. Cloth. NAAKE (John T.), of the British Museum. SLAVONIC FAIRY TALES. From Eussian, Servian, Polish, and Bohemian Sources. With Four Illustrations. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. NEWMAN (John Henry), D.D. CHARACTERISTICS FROM THE WRITINGS OF DR. J. H. NEWMAN. Being Selections, Personal, Historical, Philosophical, and Religious, from his various Works. Arranged with the Author's personal approval. Second Edition. With Portrait. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6. * # * A Portrait of the Rev. Dr. J. H. Newman, mounted for framing, can be had, price 2s. 6d. NEWMAN (Mrs.) TOO LATE. A Novel. 2 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. NOBLE (James Ashcroft). THE PELICAN PAPERS. Reminiscences and Remains of u Dweller in the Wilderness. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. NORMAN PEOPLE (The). THE NORMAN PEOPLE, and their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States of America. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 21. NORRIS (Eev. A.) THE INNER AND OUTER LIFE POEMS. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. NOTREGE (John), A.M. THE SPIRITUAL FUNCTION OF A PRESBYTER IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. Crown 8vo. Cloth, red edges, price 3s. 6d. ORIENTAL SPORTING MAGAZINE (The). A Reprint of the first 5 Volumes, in 2 Volumes. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 28a. B / 34 A List of OUR INCREASING MILITARY DIFFICULTY, and one Way of Meeting it. Demy 8vo. Stitched, price Is. PAGE (H. A.) NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE, A MEMOIB OF, with Stories now first published in this country. Large post 8vo. Cloth, price Is. Qd. PAGE (Capt. S. Flood). DISCIPLINE AND DRILL. Four Lectures delivered to the London Scottish Eifle Volunteers. Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo. Price 1. PALGRAVE (W. Gifford). HERMANN AGHA. An Eastern Narrative. 2 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth, extra gilt, price 18. PANDURANG HARI. A Tale of Mahratta Life sixty years ago. With a Preface by Sir H. Bartle E. Frere. 2 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 21. PARKER (Joseph), D.D. THE PARACLETE : An Essay on the Personality and Ministry of the Holy Ghost, with some reference to current discussions. Second Edition. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 12s. PARR (Harriett). ECHOES OF A FAMOUS YEAE. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 8s. Qd. PAUL (C. Kegan). GOETHE'S FAUST. A New Translation in Eime. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. WILLIAM GODWIN: HIS FRIENDS AND CONTEMPO- RARIES. With Portraits and Facsimiles of the Handwriting of Godwin and his Wife. 2 vols. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 28. THE GENIUS OF CHRISTIANITY UNVEILED. Being Essays never before published. Edited, with a Preface, by C. Kegan Paul. Crown 8vo. Price 7s. 6d. PAYNE (John). SONGS OF LIFE AND DEATH. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. PAYNE (Professor). LECTURES ON EDUCATION. Price 6d. each. I. Pestalozzi : the Influence of His Principles and Practice. II. Fro'bel and the Kindergarten System. Second Edition. III. The Science and Art of Education. IV. The True Foundation of Science Teaching. Henry S. King & Co.'s Publications. 35 PELLETAN (Eugene). THE DESERT PASTOR, JEAN JAROUSSEAU. Translated from the French. By Colonel E. P. De L'Hoste. With a Frontispiece. New Edition. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. PENETCE (Major J.), B.A. A DICTIONARY AND GLOSSARY OF THE KO-RAN. With copious Grammatical Eeferences and Explanations of the Text. 4to. Cloth, price 21s. PERCEVAL (Kev. P.) TAMIL PROVERBS, WITH THEIR ENGLISH TRANSLATION. Containing upwards of Six Thousand Proverbs. Third Edition. Demy 8vo. Sewed, price 9s. PERKIER (Amelia). A WINTER IN MOROCCO. With Four Illustrations. A New and Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. Qd. A GOOD MATCH. A Novel. 2 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. PERRY (Kev. S. J.) NOTES OF A VOYAGE TO KERGUELEN ISLAND. Koyal 8vo. Sewed, price 2s. PETTIGREW (J. B.), M.D., F.K.S. ANIMAL LOCOMOTION; or, Walking, Swimming, and Flying With 130 Illustrations. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. Vol. VII. of the International Scientific Series. PIGGOT (John), F.S.A, F.R.G.S. PERSIA ANCIENT AND MODERN. Post 8vo. Cloth, price 10s. 6d. POUSHKIN (Alexander Serguevitch). RUSSIAN ROMANCE. Translated from the Tales of Belkin, etc. By Mrs. J. Buchan Telfer (ne Mouravieff). Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 7s. Qd. POWER (Harriet). OUR INVALIDS: HOW SHALL WE EMPLOY AND AMUSE THEM T Fcap 8vo. Cloth, price 2s. Qd. POWLETT (Lieut. Norton), Koyal Artillery. EASTERN LEGENDS AND STORIES IN ENGLISH VERSE. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. PRESBYTER. UNFOLDINGS OF CHRISTIAN HOPE. An Essay showing that the Doctrine contained in the Damnatory Clauses of the Creed commonly called Athanasian is unscriptural. Small crown 8vo. Cloth, price 4s. Qd. 36 A List of PRICE (Prof. Bonamy). CUEEENCY AND BANKING. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. PROCTOR (Richard A.) OUE PLACE AMONG INFINITIES. A Series of Essays con- trasting our little abode in space and time with the Infinities around us. To which are added Essays on " Astrology," and " The Jewish Sabbath." Second Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. THE EXPANSE OF HEAVEN. A Series of Essays on the Wonders of the Firmament. With a Frontispiece. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. BANKING (B. Montgomerie). STEEAMS FEOM HIDDEN SOTTECES. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. READY-MONEY MORTIBOY. A Matter-of-Fact Story. With Frontispiece. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. REANEY (Mrs. G. S.) WAKING AND WOEKING; OE, FEOM GIELHOOD TO WOMANHOOD. With a Frontispiece. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. SUNBEAM WILLIE, AND OTHEE STOEIES, for Home Eeading and Cottage Meetings. 3 Illustrations. Small square, uniform with " Lost Gip," etc. Price Is. 6d. REGINALD BRAMBLE. A Cynic of the Nineteenth Century. An Autobiography. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 10s. 6d. REID (T. Wemyss). CABINET POETEAITS. Biographical Sketches of Statesmen of the Day. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price Is. 6d. RHOADES (James). TIMOLEON. A Dramatic Poem. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. RIBOT (Professor Th.) CONTEMPOEAEY ENGLISH PSYCHOLOGY. Second Edition. A revised and corrected translation from the latest French Edition. Large post 8vo. Cloth, price 9s. HEEEDITY: A Psychological Study on its Phenomena, its Laws, its Causes, and its Consequences. Large crown 8vo. Cloth, price 9. Henry S. King & Co's Publications. 37 ROBERTSON (The Late Eev. F. W.), M.A. THE LATE EEV. F. W. ROBERTSON, M.A., LIFE AND LETTERS OF. Edited by the Rev. Stopford Brooke, M.A., Chaplain in Ordinary to the Queen. I. 2 vols., uniform with the Sermons. With Steel Portrait. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 7s. 6d. II. Library Edition, in Demy 8vo. with Two Steel Portraits. Cloth, price 12s. III. A Popular Edition, in 1 vol. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. New and CJieaper Editions : SERMONS. First Series. Small crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. Second Series. Small crown Svo. Cloth, price 3s. Qd. Third Series. Small crown Svo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. Fourth Series. Small crown Svo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. EXPOSITORY LECTURES ON ST. PAUL'S EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. Small crown Svo. Cloth, price 5s. LECTURES AND ADDRESSES, with other literary remains. A New Edition. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 5s. AN ANALYSIS OF MR. TENNYSON'S "IN MEMORIAM." (Dedicated by Permission to the Poet-Laureate.) Fcap. Svo. Cloth, price 2s. THE EDUCATION OF THE HUMAN RACE. Translated from the German of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. Fcap. Svo. Cloth, price 2s. 6d. Tlie above Works can also be had bound in half-morocco. %* A Portrait of the late Rev. F. W. Robertson, mounted for framing, can be had, price 2s. 6d. Ross (Mrs. Ellen), (" Nelsie Brook.") DADDY'S PET. A Sketch from Humble Life. Uniform with " Lost Gip." With Six Illustrations. Square crown Svo. Cloth, price Is. ROXBURGHE LOTHIAN. DANTE AND BEATRICE FROM 1282 TO 1290. A Romance. 2 vols. Post Svo. Cloth, price 24s. RUSSELL (William Clark). MEMOIRS OF MRS. L.ETITIA BOOTHBY. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 7s. 6d. RUSSELL (E. R.) IRVING AS HAMLET. Second Edition. Demy Svo. Sewed, price 1*. 38 A List of SADLER (S. W.), R.N., Author of " Marshall Vavasour." THE AFRICAN CRUISER. A Midshipman's Adventures on the West Coast. A Book for Boys. With Three Illustrations. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. SAMAROW (Gregor). FOR SCEPTRE AND CROWN. A Romance of the Present Time. Translated by Fanny Wormald. 2 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 15s. SAUNDERS (Katherine). THE HIGH MILLS. A Novel. 3 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. GIDEON'S ROCK, and other Stories. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. JOAN MERRY WEATHER, and other Stories. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. MARGARET AND ELIZABETH. A Story of the Sea. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. SAUNDERS (John). ISRAEL MORT, OVERMAN. A Story of the Mine. 3 vols. Crown 8vo. HIRELL. With Frontispiece. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. ABEL DRAKE'S WIFE. With Frontispiece. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. SCHELL (Major von). THE OPERATIONS OF THE FIRST ARMY UNDER GEN. VON GOEBEN. Translated by Col. C. H. von Wright. Four Maps. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 9. THE OPERATIONS OF THE FIRST ARMY UNDER GEN. VON STEINMETZ. Translated by Captain E. O. Hollist. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 10. 6cZ. SCHERFF (Major W. von). STUDIES IN THE NEW INFANTRY TACTICS. Parts I. and II. Translated from the German by Colonel Lumley Graham. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 7s. 6d. SCHMIDT (Prof. Oscar), Strasburg University. THE DOCTRINE OF DESCENT AND DARWINISM. With 26 Illustrations. Third Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. Vol. XII. of the International Scientific Series. SCHUTZENBERGER (Prof. F.), Director of the Chemical Laboratory at the Sorbonne. FERMENTATION. With numerous Illustrations. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 5s. Vol. XX. of the International Scientific Series. Henry S. King & Co.'s Publications. 39 SCOTT (Patrick). THE DREAM AND THE DEED, and other Poems. Fcap. Svo. Cloth, price 5s. SCOTT (W. T.) ANTIQUITIES OF GREAT DUNMOW. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. SEEKING HIS FORTUNE, and other Stories. With Four Illustrations. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 3. 6d. SENIOR (Nassau William). ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE. Correspondence and Conversa- tions with Nassau W. Senior, from 1833 to 1859. Edited by M. C. M. Simpson. 2 vols. Large post Svo. Cloth, price 21s. JOURNALS KEPT IN FRANCE AND ITALY. From 1848 to 1852. With a Sketch of the Kevolution of 1848. Edited by his Daughter, M. C. M. Simpson. 2 vols. Post Svo. Cloth, price 24. SEVEN AUTUMN LEAVES FROM FAIRYLAND. Illustrated with Nine Etchings. Square crown Svo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. SEYD (Ernest), F.S.S. THE FALL IN THE PRICE OF SILVER. Its Causes, its Consequences, and their Possible Avoidance, with Special Keference to India. Demy Svo. Sewed, price 2s. 6d. SHADWELL (Major-General), C.B. MOUNTAIN WARFARE. Illustrated by the Campaign of 1799 in Switzerland. Being a Translation of the Swiss Narrative com- piled from the Works of the Archduke Charles, Jomini, and others. Also of Notes by General H. Dufour on the Campaign of the Valtelline in 1635. With Appendix, Maps, and Introductory Remarks. Demy Svo. Cloth, price 16. SHELDON (Philip). WOMAN'S A RIDDLE; or, Baby Warmstrey. A Novel. 3 vols. Crown Svo. Cloth. SHERMAN (Gen. W. T.) MEMOIRS OF GEN. W. T. SHERMAN, Commander of the Federal Forces in the American Civil War. By Himself. 2 vols. With Map. Demy Svo. Cloth, price 24. Copyright English Edition. SHELLEY (Lady). SHELLEY MEMORIALS FROM AUTHENTIC SOURCES. With (now first printed) an Essay on Christianity by Percy Bysshe Shelley. With Portrait. Third Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5. 40 A List of SHIPLEY (Kev. Orby), M.A. STUDIES IN MODERN PROBLEMS. By various Writers. 2 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5. each. CONTENTS. VOL. I. Sacramental Confession. j Eetreats for Persons Living in Abolition of the Thirty- nine Articles. Part I. The Sanctity of Marriage. Creation and Modern Science. CONTENTS. VOL. II. the World. Catholic and Protestant. The Bishops on Confession in the Church of England. Some Principles of Chris- tian Ceremonial. A Layman's View of Con- fession of Sin to a Priest. Parts I. and II. Reservation of the Blessed Sacrament. Missions and Preaching Orders. Abolition of the Thirty-nine Articles. Part II. The First Liturgy of Edward VI. and our own office con- trasted and compared. SMEDLEY (M. B.) BOARDING-OUT AND PAUPER SCHOOLS FOR GIRLS. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3. 6d. SMITH (Edward), M.D., LL.B., F.K.S. HEALTH AND DISEASE, as influenced by the Daily, Seasonal, and other Cyclical Changes in the Human System. A New Edition. Post 8vo. Cloth, price 7*. 6d. FOODS. Profusely Illustrated. Fourth Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5. Vol. III. of the International Scientific Series. PRACTICAL DIETARY FOR FAMILIES, SCHOOLS, AND THE LABOURING CLASSES. A New Edition. Post 8vo. Cloth, price 3. 6d. CONSUMPTION IN ITS EARLY AND REMEDIABLE STAGES. A New Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6*. SMITH (Hubert). TENT LIFE WITH ENGLISH GIPSIES IN NORWAY. With Five full-page Engravings and Thirty-one smaller Illustrations by Whymper and others, and Map of the Country showing Routes. Second Edition. Revised and Corrected. Post 8vo. Cloth, price 21 . SONGS FOR Music. By Four Friends. Square crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. Containing Songs by Reginald A. Gatty, Stephen H. Gatty, Greville J. Chester, and Juliana H. Ewing. Henry S. King & Co.'s Publications. 41 SOME TIME IN IRELAND. A Kecollection. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price Is. 6d. SONGS OF Two WORLDS. SONGS OF TWO WORLDS. By a New Writer. First Series. Second Edition. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. SONGS OF TWO WOELDS. By a New Writer. Second Series. Second Edition. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. SONGS OF TWO WORLDS. By a New Writer. Third Series. Second Edition. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. THE EPIC OF HADES. By the Author of " Songs of Two Worlds." Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. SPENCER (HERBERT). THE STUDY OF SOCIOLOGY. Fifth Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. Vol. V. of the International Scientific Series. SPICER (Henry), OTHO'S DEATH WAGER. A Dark Page of History Illus- trated. In Five Acts. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. STEVENSON (Eev. W. Fleming). HYMNS FOR THE CHURCH AND HOME. Selected and Edited by the Kev. W. Fleming Stevenson. The most complete Hymn Book published. The Hymn Book consists of Three Parts : I. For Public Wor- ship. II. For Family and Private Worship. III. For Children. *** Published in various forms and prices, the latter ranging from Sd. to 6. Lists and full particulars will be furnished on application to the Publishers. STEWART (Professor Balfour). ON THE CONSERVATION OF ENERGY. Third Edition. With Fourteen Engravings. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. Vol. VI. of the International Scientific Series. STONEHEWER (Agnes). MONACELLA : A Legend of North Wales. A Poem. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. STRETTON (Hesba). Author of " Jessica's First Prayer." THE CREW OF THE DOLPHIN. Illustrated. Square crown 8vo. Cloth, price Is. Qd. CASSY. Twenty-seventh Thousand. With Six Illustrations. Square crown 8vo. Cloth, price 1. Qd. THE KING'S SERVANTS. Thirty-third Thousand. With Eight Illustrations. Square crown 8vo. Cloth, price Is. 6d. 42 A List of STRETTON (Hesba). Author of " Jessica's First Prayer." LOST GIF. Forty-seventh Thousand. With Six Illustrations. Square crown 8vo. Cloth, price Is. 6d. *#* Also a handsomely -bound Edition, with Twelve Illustrations, price 2s. 6d. THE WONDERFUL LIFE. Ninth Thousand. Fcap.8vo. Cloth, price 2s. 6d . FRIENDS TILL DEATH. With Frontispiece. Limp cloth, price 6d. TWO CHRISTMAS STOEIES. With Frontispiece. Limp cloth, price 6d. MICHEL LOEIO'S CROSS, AND LEFT ALONE. With Frontis- piece. Limp cloth, price 6d. OLD TRANSOME. With Frontispiece. Limp cloth, price 6d. THE WORTH OF A BABY, AND HOW APPLE-TREE COURT WAS WON. With Frontispiece. Limp cloth, price 6d. HESTER MORLEY'S PROMISE. 3 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. THE DOCTOR'S DILEMMA. 3 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. SULLY (James). SENSATION AND INTUITION. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 10s. 6d. TALES OP THE ZENANA. By the Author of " Pandurang Hari." 2 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 21. TAYLOR (Eev. J. W. Augustus), M.A. POEMS. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 5. TAYLOR (Sir Henry). EDWIN THE FAIR AND ISAAC COMNENUS. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 3. 6d. A SICILIAN SUMMER AND OTHER POEMS. Fcap. Svo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. PHILIP VAN ARTEVELDE. A Dramatic Poem. Fcap. Svo. Cloth, price 5*. TAYLOR (Colonel Meadows), C.S.I., M.E.I.A. SEETA. A Novel. 3 vols. Crown Svo. Cloth. THE CONFESSIONS OF A THUG. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 6. TARA : a Mahratta Tale. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 6. THOMAS (Moy). A FIGHT FOR LIFE. With Frontispiece. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. THOMSON (J. T.), F.K.G.S. HAZAYIT ABDULLA. The Autobiography of a Malay Munshi, between the years IbiOS and 1843. Demy Svo. Cloth, price 12s. Henry S. King & Go's Publications. 43 TENNYSON (Alfred). QUEEN MARY. A Drama. New Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6*. TENNYSON'S (Alfred) Works. Cabinet Edition. Ten Volumes. Each with Portrait. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 2s. Qd. CABINET EDITION. 10 vols. Complete in handsome Orna- mental Case. Price 28s. TENNYSON'S (Alfred) Works. Author's Edition. Com- plete in Five Volumes. Post 8vo. Cloth gilt; or half- morocco, Eoxburgh style. VOL. I. EAELY POEMS, and ENGLISH IDYLLS. Price 6s. ; Roxburgh, Is. Qd. VOL. II. LOCKSLEY HALL, LUCRETIUS, and other Poems. Price 6s. ; Eoxburgh, 7s. Qd. VOL. III. THE IDYLLS OF THE KING (Complete'). Price 7s. Qd. ; Roxburgh, 9s. VOL. IV. THE PRINCESS, and MAUD. Price 6s.; Rox- burgh, 7s. 6d. VOL. V. ENOCH ARDEN, and IN MEMORIAM. Price 6s. : Roxburgh, Is. Qd. TENNYSON'S IDYLLS OF THE ZING, and other Poems. Illustrated by Julia Margaret Cameron. 1 vol. Folio. Half- bound morocco, cloth sides. Six Guineas. TENNYSON'S (Alfred) Works. Original Editions. POEMS. Small 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. MAUD, and other Poems. Small 8vo. Cloth, price 3. 6d. THE PRINCESS. Small 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. Qd. IDYLLS OF THE ZING. Small 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. IDYLLS OF THE ZING. Collected. Small 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. THE HOLY GRAIL, and other Poems. Small 8vo. Cloth, price 4s. Qd. GARETH AND LYNETTE. Small 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. ENOCH ARDEN, etc. Small 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. Gd. SELECTIONS FROM THE ABOVE WORZS. Square 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. Qd. Cloth gilt, extra, price 4s. SONGS FROM THE ABOVE WORKS. Square 8vo. Cloth extra, price 3s. Qd. IN MEMORIAM. Small 8vo. Cloth, price 4s. LIBRARY EDITION. In 6 vols. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 10s. Qd. each. POCKET VOLUME EDITION. 11 vols. In neat case, 31. Qd. Ditto, ditto. Extra cloth gilt, in case, 35s. POEMS. Illustrated Edition. 4to. Cloth, price 25s. 44 A List of THOMASINA. A Novel. 2 vols. Crown Svo. THOMPSON (A. C.) PEELTTDES. A Volume of Poems. Illustrated by Elizabeth Thompson (Painter of " The Boll Call "). 8vo. Cloth, price Is. Qd. THOMPSON (Kev. A. S.), British Chaplain at St. Petersburg. HOME WOEDS FOE WANDEEEES. A Volume of Sermons. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 6s. THOUGHTS IN VERSE. Small crown 8vo. Cloth, price Is. 6d. THEING (Rev. Godfrey), B.A. HYMNS AND SACEED LYEICS. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 5*. TODD (Herbert), M.A. AEVAN ; or, The Story of the Sword. A Poem. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price Is. Qd. TEAHEENE (Mrs. Arthur). THE BOMANTIC ANNALS OF A NAVAL FAMILY. A New and Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. TEAVERS (Mar.) THE SPINSTEES OF BLATCHINGTON. A Novel. 2 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. TEEVANDBUM OBSERVATIONS. OBSEEVATIONS OF MAGNETIC DECLINATION MADE AT TEEVANDBUM AND AGUSTIA MALLEY in the Observatories of his Highness the Maharajah of Travancore, G.C.S.I., in the Years 1852 to 1860. Being Trevandrum Magnetical Observa- tions, Volume I. Discussed and Edited by John Allan Brown, F.B.S., late Director of the Observatories. "With an Appendix. Imp. 4to. Cloth, price 3 3s. %* The Appendix, containing Reports on the Observatories and on the Public Museum, Public Park, and Gardens at Trevandrum, pp. xii.-116, may be had separately, price 21s. TURNER (Rev. Charles). SONNETS, LYEICS, AND TEANSLATIONS. Crown Svo. Cloth, price is. 6d. TYNDALL (J.), LL.D., F.R.S. THE FOEMS OF WATEE IN CLOUDS AND EIVEES, ICE AND GLACIEES. With Twenty-six Illustrations. Sixth Edition. Crown Svo. Cloth, price 5. Vol. I. of the International Scientific Series. Henry S. King & Co.'s Publications. 45 UMBRA OXONIENSIS. EESULTS OF THE EXPOSTULATION OF THE EIGHT HONOUEABLE W. E. GLADSTONE, in their Kelation to the Unity of Roman Catholicism. Large fcap. 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. UPTON (Roger D.), Captain- late 9th Eoyal Lancers. NEWMAEKET AND AEABIA. An Examination of the Descent of Racers and Coursers. With Pedigrees and Frontis- piece. Post 8vo. Cloth, price 9s. VAMBERY (Prof. Arminius), of the University of Pesth. BOKHARA : Its History and Conquest. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 18s. VAN BEXEDEN (Monsieur), Professor of the University of Louvain, Correspondent of the Institute of France. ANIMAL PARASITES AND MESSMATES. With 83 Illus- trations. Second Edition. Cloth, price 5s. Vol. XIX. of the International Scientific Series. VANESSA. By the Author of "Thomasina," etc. A Xovel. 2 vols. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth. VAUGHAN (Eev. C. J.), D.D. WOEDS OF HOPE FEOM THE PULPIT OF THE TEMPLE CHUECH. Third Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. THE SOLIDITY OF TEUE EELIGION, and other Sermons Preached in London during the Election and Mission Week, February, 1874. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. FOEGET THINE OWN PEOPLE. An Appeal for Missions. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. THE YOUNG LIFE EQUIPPING ITSELF FOE GOD'S SEE- VICE. Being Four Sermons Preached before the University of Cambridge, in November, 1872. Fourth Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. VINCENT (Capt. C. E. H.), late Eoyal Welsh Fusiliers. ELEMENTAEY MILITAEY GEOGEAPHY, EECONNOITEING, AND SKETCHING. Compiled for Xon-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers of all Arms. Square crown 8vo. Cloth, price 2s. 6d. EUSSIA'S ADVANCE EASTWAED. Based on the Official Reports of Lieutenant Hugo Stumm, German Military Attache' to the Khivan Expedition. With Map. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. VIZCAYA; or, Life in the Land of the Carlists at the Outbreak of the Insurrection, with some Account of the Iron Mines and other Characteristics of the Country. With a Map and Eight Illustrations. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 9s. 46 A List of VOGEL (Prof.), Polytechnic Academy of Berlin. THE CHEMICAL EFFECTS OF LIGHT AND PHOTOGRAPHY, in their application to Art, Science, and Industry. The trans- lation thoroughly revised. With 100 Illustrations, including some beautiful Specimens of Photography. Third Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. ' Vol. XV. of the International Scientific Series. VYNER (Lady Mary). EVERY DAY A PORTION. Adapted from the Bible and the Prayer Book, for the Private Devotions of those living in Widowhood. Collected and Edited by Lady Mary Vyner. Square crown 8vo. Cloth extra, price 5s. WAITING FOE TIDINGS. By the Author of "White and Black." 3 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. WAETENSLEBEN (Count Hermann von), Colonel in the Prussian General Staff. THE OPERATIONS OF THE SOUTH ARMY IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY, 1871. Compiled from the Official War Docu- ments of the Head-quarters of the Southern Army. Translated by Colonel C. H. von Wright. With Maps. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. THE OPERATIONS OF THE FIRST ARMY UNDER GEN. VON MANTEUFFEL. Translated by Colonel C. H. von Wright. Uniform with the above. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 9s. WEDMOEE (Frederick). TWO GIRLS. 2 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. WELLS (Captain John C.), K.N. SPITZBERGEN THE GATEWAY TO THE POLYNIA ; or, A Voyage to Spitzbergen. With numerous Illustrations by Whymper and others, and Map. New and Cheaper Edition. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. WETMOEE (W. S.). COMMERCIAL TELEGRAPHIC CODE. Post 4to. Boards, price 42s. WHAT 'TIS TO LOVE. By the Author of " Flora Adair," " The Value of Fostertown." 3 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. WHITAKEE (Florence). CHRISTY'S INHERITANCE: A London Story. Illustrated. Eoyal 32mo. Cloth, price Is. 6d. Henry S. King & Co.'s Publications. 47 WHITE (Captain F. B. P.) THE SUBSTANTIVE SENIORITY ARMY LIST MAJORS AND CAPTAINS. 8vo. Sewed, price 2s. 6d. WHITNEY (William Dwight). Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Philology in Yale College, New Haven. THE LIFE AND GROWTH OF LANGUAGE. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. Copyright Edition. Vol. XVI. of the International Scientific Series. WHITTLE (J. Lowry), A.M., Trin. Coll., Dublin. CATHOLICISM AND THE VATICAN. With a Narrative of the Old Catholic Congress at Munich. Second Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 4s. 6d. WILBEKFOECE (Henry W.) THE CHURCH AND THE EMPIRES. Historical Perioda. Preceded by a Memoir of the Author by John Henry Newman, D.D., of the Oratory. With Portrait. Post 8vo. Cloth, price 10s. Gd. WILKINSON (T. Lean). SHORT LECTURES ON THE LAND LAWS. Delivered before the Working Men's College. Crown 8vo. Limp cloth, price 2s. WILLIAMS (A. Lukyn), Jesus College, Cambridge. FAMINES IN INDIA ; their Causes and Possible Prevention. The Essay for the Le Bas Prize, 1875. Demy 8vo. Price 5s. WILLIAMS (Kev. Kowland), D.D. LIFE AND LETTERS OF ROWLAND WILLIAMS, D.D., with Selections from his Note-books. Edited by Mrs. Eowland Williams. With a Photographic Portrait. 2 vols. Large post 8vo. Cloth, price 24s. THE PSALMS, LITANIES, COUNSELS, AND COLLECTS FOR DEVOUT PERSONS. Edited by his Widow. New and Popular Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 3s. 6d. WILLOUGHBY (The Hon. Mrs.) ON THE NORTH WIND THISTLEDOWN. A Volume of Poems. Elegantly bound. Small crown 8vo. Cloth, price Is. 6d. WILSON (H. Schiitz). STUDIES AND ROMANCES. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price Is. 6d. WILSON (Lieutenant-Colonel C. Townshend). JAMES THE SECOND AND THE DUKE OF BERWICK. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 12. Qd. WINTERBOTHAM (Rev. R), M.A., B.Sc. SERMONS AND EXPOSITIONS. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price Is. Qd. 48 A List of Henry S. King & Co.'s Publications. WORNOVITS (Captain Illia). AUSTRIAN CAVALRY EXERCISE. Translated by Captain W. S. Cooke. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price Is. WOOD (C. F.) A YACHTING CRUISE IN THE SOUTH SEAS. With Six Photographic Illustrations. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 7s. 6d. WEIGHT (Rev. W.), of Stoke Bishop, Bristol. MAN AND ANIMALS: A Sermon. Crown 8vo. Stitched in wrapper, price Is. WAITING FOR THE LIGHT, AND OTHER SERMONS. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. WYLD (E. S.), F.E.S.E. THE PHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE SENSES; or, The Mental and the Physical in their Mutual Relation. Illus- trated by several Plates. Demy 8vo. Cloth, price 16s. YONGE (C. D.), Begins Professor, Queen's College, Belfast. HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH REVOLUTION OF 1688. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 6s. YORKE (Stephen), Author of "Tales of the North Hiding." CLEVEDEN. A Novel. 2 vols. Crown 8vo. Cloth. YOUMANS (Eliza A.) AN ESSAY ON THE CULTURE OF THE OBSERVING POWERS OF CHILDREN, especially in connection with the Study of Botany. Edited, with Notes and a Supplement, by Joseph Payne, F.C.P., Author of " Lectures on the Science and Art of Education," etc. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 2s. 6d. FIRST BOOK OF BOTANY. Designed to cultivate the Observ- ing Powers of Children. With 300 Engravings. New and Enlarged Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5. YOUMANS (Edward L.), M.D. A CLASS BOOK OF CHEMISTRY, on the Basis of the new System. With 200 Illustrations. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. ZIMMERN (Helen). STORIES IN PRECIOUS STONES. With Six Illustrations. Third Edition. Crown 8vo. Cloth, price 5s. Oaxton Printing Works, BeccUs. 000 089 245 5