l{8RAB1. > $t»,«Wl i > w ~*h ADDRESS DELIVERED BEFORE THE WASHINGTON CITY TEMPERANCE SOCIETY. NOVEMBER 15, 1830. >9§§ THOMAS SEW ALL, M. D. Professor of Anatomy and Physiology in the Columbian College', District of Columbia. PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. WASHINGTON: WJI. GREER, PRINTER- 1830. ADDRESS. Fellow Citizens, Every period in the history of the world has its peculiar features, is distinguished by some leading circumstances which seem to absorb the spirit of the historian, and mainly to arrest the attention of the enquirer after truth. The progress of the arts and sciences, the discovery of new coun- tries, the planting of colonies, the revolution of states and empires, the convulsions of kingdoms, the seisms and persecutions of the church, the tyranny of potentates over their subjects, as well as war, pestilence and famine, have all, in their turn, formed these great landmarks. In view of these facts, it is natural for the enquiring mind, while ca- reering over the world, and marking the events of the time, to stop and ask, what will constitute in future history, the great features of the period ' in which we live ? Will the political revolutions of the times, the coro- nation and death of emperors and kings, or the contests of ambitious po- liticians, which now create such general commotion in the world, will these form the prominent features ? They will no doubt be gathered up and form a part of the future history of our time; but, there are other circumstances and events which will constitute the more prominent sub- jects of attention; projects more noble and elevated, achievements more beneficent to man, and more extended and durable in their consequences. The translation of the Holy Scriptures into every tongue, and their dis- tribution through the world, the mission of the preached gospel to all na- tions, the efforts to wrest the rising generation from ignorance and vice, the exertions to emancipate the African from slavery and restore him to the land of his fathers, and to send back with him to that benighted re- gion of the eartli, the light of science and religion ; to carry "light and immortality" to the idolatrous millions of Asia, and of the South Sea islands, as well as to bring to a knowledge of the truth the savage tribes •I i)f our own continent. In short, the struggle of all Christendom to en- lighten the ignorant, reclaim the vicious, civilize the heathen, and evangelize those who know not the way of salvation. These are the circumstances which will be drawn from the re- cords of our time ; and while they will staiul out in bold relief among those events, upon the page of future history, they will descend with in- creasing lustre in all future time. The origin too of these enterprizes, which shall have led to such mighty consequences, will be sought for, and the names of those who led the way will be embalmed and eulogized, while the memory of the tyrant, the warrior, and the politician will be forgotten. These reflections have been suggested by the occasion which has cal- led us together this evening; for by whatever name this society is recog- nized, and whatever part it may take in the great enterprize of amelior- ating the condition of man, whether it be classed with the Bible and Missionary establishments, the education and tract associations, the in- stitution of Infant and Sunday schools, or the colonization and temper- ance cause, the ultimate end is one and the same. They are all so many streams issuing from the same fountain ; and while they traverse and fer- tilize different regions, they pour their contents into the same ocean, an ocean whose waters are accumulating, whose boundaries are enlarging, and whose waves are rolling onward and onward, beating down the bar- riers which now narrow its limits. It is with such views as these that we are enabled to come together on the present occasion, and to unite one with another, that every good member of society, every philanthropic individual, of whatever religious sect or profession, is enabled to come, and in despite of party zeal or sectarian bigotry, give his hand and his heart to the cause, the noble cause, in which we are engaged. We are convened, my fellow citizens, to attend the first anniversary of a Society for the promotion of Temperance ; an institution, which in ac- cordance with the spirit of the times, has been established through our land by the almost united voice of the nation, and this for the suppression of one of the most alarming evils that ever infested human society; a vice too, so odious in its nature, so injurious in its consequences, and attended with so many circumstances of suffering, mortification and disgrace, that it seems difficult to understand how it should ever have become a prevalent *vil among mankind ; and more especially, how it should have come down 5 to us from the early periods of society, gaining strength and power, and influence, in its descent. That such is the fact requires no proof. Its de- vastating effects are but too obvious. In these latter times more especi- ally, it has swept over our land with the rapidity and power of a tem- pest, bearing down every thing in its course. Not content with rioting in the haunts of ignorance and vice, it has passed through our conse- crated groves, has entered our most sacred enclosures:—And oh ! how many men of genius and of letters have fallen before it! how many lofty intellects have been shattered and laid in ruins by its power ! how many a warm and philanthropic heart has been chilled by its icy touch ! It has left no retreat unvisited ; it has alike invaded our public and private assemblies, our political and social circles, our courts of justice and halls of legislation. It has stalked within the very walls of our Capitol, and there left the stain of its polluting touch on our national <*lory. It has leaped over the pale of the church, and even reached up its sacrilegious arm to the pulpit and dragged down some of its richest ornaments. It has revelled equally on the spoils of the palace and the cottage, and has seized its victims with an unsparing grasp, from every class of society ; the private citizen and public functionary, the high and the low, the rich and the poor, the enlightened and the ignorant,—and where is there a family among us so happy, as not to have wept over some of its members, who have fallen by the hand of this ruthless de- stroyer. As a nation, intemperance has corrupted our morals, impaired our in- tellect, and enfeebled our physical strength. Indeed, in whatever light we view it, whether as an individual, a social, or national evil, as affect- ing our personal independence and happiness, our national wealth and industry; as reducing our power of naval and military defence, as enfee- bling the intellectual energies of the nation, and undermining the health of our fellow citizens; as sinking the patriotism and valour of the na- tion, as increasing paupers, poverty and taxation, as sapping the founda- tion'of our moral and religious institutions, or as introducing disorder, distress and ruin into families and society ; it calls to us in a voice of thunder, to awake from our slumbers, to seize every weapon, and wield every power which God and nature has placed within our reach, to pro- tect ourselves and our fellow citizens from its ravages. But the occasion will not permit me to dwell on the general effects of intemperance, nor to trace the history of its causes.-I shall, therefore, o confine myself more particularly to a consideration of its influence on tin individual—its effects on the moral, intellectual and physical constitu- tion of man—not the primary effect of ardent spirit as displayed in a fit of intoxication : scenes of this description have too frequently been impressed on your senses, to render it proper or necessary that I should at this time introduce a subject so disgusting, and attended with so many painful recollections. It is the more insidious, permanent and fatal effects of intemperance, as exemplified in the case of the habitual dram- drinker, to which I wish to call your attention. I. The effects of ardent spirit on the moral powers : It is perhaps difficult to determine in what way intemperance first man- ifests its influence on the moral powers, so variously does it affect dif- ferent individuals. Were I to speak from my own observation, 1 should say that it first appears in an alienation of those kind and tender sympa- thies which bind a man to his family and friends ; those lively sensibil- ities which enable him to participate in the joys and sorrows of those around him. " The social affections lose their fulness, and tender- ness, the conscience its power, the heart its sensibility, till all that was once lovely and rendered him the joy and the idol of his friends, retires," and leaves him to the dominion of the appetites and passions of the brute. "Religious enjoyment, if he ever possessed any, declines as the emotions excited by ardent spirit, arise." He loses by degrees his regard to truth and to the fulfilment of his engagements—he forgets the Sab- bath and the house of worship, and lounges upon his bed, or lingers at the tavern. I le lays aside his bible—his family devotion is not heard, and his closet no longer listens to the silent whispers of prayer. He at length becomes irritable, peevish and profane; and ■ finally lost to every thing that respects decorum in appearance, 6r virtue in principle ; and it is lamentable to mark the steps of that process by which the virtuous and elevated man sinks to ruin. II. Its effects on the intellectual powers : Here the influence of intemperance is marked and decisive. The in- ebriate first loses his vivacity and natural acuteness of perception. His judgment becomes clouded and impaired in its strength, the memory al- so enfeebled and sometimes quite obliterated. The mind is wandering and vacant, and incapable of intense or steady application to any one subject. This state is usually accompanied by an unmeaning stare or fixedness of countenance quite peculiar to the drunkard. Tho ima^inn- uon and-the will, if not enteebled, acquire a morbid sensibility, from which they are thrown into a state of violent excitement from the slight- est causes; hence the inebriate sheds floods of tears over the pictures of his own fancy. I have often seen him, and especially on his recove- ry from a fit of intoxication, weep and laugh alternately over the same scene. The will, too, acquires an omnipotent ascendancy over him, and is the only monitor to which he yields obedience. The appeals o* conscience, the claims of domestic happiness, of wives and children, of patriotism and of virtue, are not heard. The different powers of the mind having thus lost their natural rela- tion to each other, the healthy balance being destroyed, the intellect is no longer fit for intense application, or successful effort—and although the inebriate may, and sometimes does astonish, and delight by the flights of his fancy, and the poignancy of his wit, yet in nine cases out of ten he fails, and there is never any confidence to be reposed in him. There have been a few, who from peculiarity of constitution, or some other cause, have continued to perform intellectual labour for many years, while slaves to ardent spirits; but in no instance has the vigor of the in- tellect or its ability to labour been increased by indulgence: and where there is one who has been able to struggle on under the habits of intem- perance, there are thousands who have perished in the experiment, and some among the most powerful minds that the world ever produced. On the other hand, we shall find by looking over the biography of the <*reat men of every age, that those who have possessed the clearest and most powerful minds, neither drank spirits nor indulged in the pleasures of the table. Sir Isaac Newton, John Locke, Dr. Franklin, John Wes- ley, Sir William Jones, John Fletcher, and President Edwards, furnish a striking illustration of this truth. One of the secrets by which these men produced such astonishing results, were enabled to perform so much intellectual labour, and of so high a grade, and to arrive at old 3ge in the enjoyment of health, was a rigid course of abstinence. But { hasten to consider more particularly, III. Its effects on the physical powers: In view of this part of the subject, the atten'ion of the critical ob- server is arrested by a series of circumstances, alike disgusting and melancholy. ,. » • j- 1 The odour of the breath of'the drunkard furnishes the earliest ind.- rjai;on by which the habitual use of ardent spirit becomes known. This « is occasioned by the exhalation of the alcoholic principle from the bronchial vessels, and air cells of the lungs—not of pure spirit, as. tak- en into the stomach, but of spirit which has been absorbed, has mingled with the blood, and has been, subjected to the action of the different or- gans of the body ; and not containing any principle which contributes to the nourishment or renovation of the system, is cast out with the other excretions as poisonous and hurtful; and this peculiar odour does not arise from the accidental or occasional use of spirit; it marks only the habitual dram-drinker ; the one who indulges daily in his potation ; and although its density varies in some degree with the kind of spirit consumed, the habits and constitution of the individual, yet it bears gen- erally a close relation to the degree of intemperance. These ob- servations are confirmed by some experiments made on living animals by the celebrated French Physiologist, Magendie. He ascertained that diluted alcohol, a solution of camphor, and some other odorous substances, when subjected to the absorbing power of the veins, are taken up by them, and after mingling with the blood, pass off by the pulmonary exhalants. Even phosphorus injected in. to the crural vein of a dog, he found to pass off in a few moments from the nostrils of the animal in a dense white vapour, which he ascertained to be phosphoric acid. Cases have occurred, in which the breath of the drunkard has become so highly charged with alcohol, as to render it actually inflammable by the touch of a taper. One individual in par- ticular, is mentioned, who often amused his comrades by passing his breath through a small tube, and setting it on fire, as it issued from it. It appears also, that this has sometimes beer, the source of that combus- tion of the body of the drunkard, which has been denominated spontane- ous; many well authenticated cases of which are on record. 2. The perspirable matter which passes off from the skin becomes charged with the odour of alcohol in the drunkard, and is so far chang- ed in some cases as to furnish evidence of the kind of spirit drank. I have met with two instances, says Dr. McNish, the one in a claret, and the other in a port drinker; in which the moisture that exhaled from their bodies, had a ruddy complexion, similar to the wine on which they had committed their debauch. 3. The whole system soon bears marks of debility and decay. The voluntary muscles lose their power, and cease to act under the controul of the will, and hence all the movements become awkward exhibiting 9 the appearance of stiffness in the joints. The positrons of the bofly, also, are tottering and infirm, and the step loses its elasticity and vigor. The muscles, and e^peciallythose of the face and lips, are often aflectetl with a convulsive twitching, which produces the involuntary winking of the eye, and quivering of the lip, so characteristic of the intemperate. Indeed, all the motions seem unnatural and forced, as if restrained by some power within. The extremities are at length seized with a tremor, which is more strongly marked after recovery from a fit of intoxication. The lips lose their significant expression,^and become sensual—the complexion assumes a sickly leaden hue, or is changed to an unhealthy, fiery redness, and is covered with red streaks and blotches. The eye becomes watery, tender, and inflamed, and loses its intelligence and its fire. These symptoms, together with a certain ccderaatous appearance about the eye, bloating of the whole body, with a dry, feverish skin, seldom fail to mark the habitual dram-drinker; apd they go on increasing and increasing, till the intelligence and dignity of the man is lost in the tameness and sensuality of the brute. But these effects, which are external and obvious, are only the " signals which nature holds out, and waves in token of internal dis- tress ;" for all the time the inebriate has been pouring down his daily draught and making merry over the cup, morbid changes have been go- ing on within ; and though these are unseen, and it may be unsuspected, they are fatal, irretrievable. A few of the most important of these changes I shall now describe : 4. The stomach and its functions:— This is the great organ of digestion. It is the chief instrument by which food is prepared to nourish, sustain and renovate the different tis- sues of the body, to carry on the various functions, and to supply the waste which continually takes place in the system. It is not strange, therefore, that the habitual application to the organ of any agent, cal- culated to derange its functions, or change its organization, should be followed by symptoms so various and extensive, and by consequences so fatal. The use of ardent spirit produces both these effects ; it deranges the functions of the stomach, and if persisted in long enough, seldom fails to change its organic structure. The inebriate first loses his appetite, and becomes thirsty and fever- ish ; he vomits in the morning, and is affected with spasmodic pains in 10 the region of the stomach, fie is often seized with permanent dyspep- sia, and either wastes away by degrees, or dies suddenly of a fit of cramp in the stomach. On examining the stomach after death, it is generally found irritated, and approaching a state of inflammation, with its vessels enlarged, and filled with black blood ; and particularly those of the mucous coat, which gives to the internal surface of the stomach the appearance of purple or reddish streaks, resembling the livid patches seen on the face of the drunkard. The coats of the stomach become greatly thickened and corrugated, and so firmly united as to form one inseparable mass. In this state, the walls of the organ are sometimes increased in thickness, to the extent often or twelve lines, and are sometimes found also in a scirrhus, or cancerous condition. The following case occurred in my practice several years since : A middle aged gentleman, of wealth and standing, had long been accus- tomed to mingle in the convivial circle, and though by no means a drunkard, had indulged at times in the use of his old cogniac, with an unsparing hand. He was at length seized with pain in the region of the stomach, and a vomiting of his food an hour or two after eating. In about eighteen months he died in a state of extreme emaciation. On opening the body aAcr death, the walls of the whole of the right extremity of the stomach were found in a scirrhus and cancerous condi- tion, and thickened to the extent of about two inches. The cavity of the organ was so far obliterated as scarcely to admit the passage of a probe from the left to the right extremity, and the opening which remained was so unequal and irregular as to render it evident that but little of the nourishment he had received could have passed the lower orifice of the stomach for many months. I have never dissected the stomach of a drunkard, in which the or- gan did not manifest some remarkable deviation from its healthy condi- tion. But the derangement of the stomach is not limited to the func- tion of nutrition merely. This organ is closely united to every other organ, and to each individual tissue of the bod), by its sympathetic re- lations. When the stomach, therefore, becomes diseased, other parts suffer with it. The functions of the brain, the heart, the lungs, and the m er become disordered, the secretions are altered, and all the opera- tions of the animal economy are more or less affected. 11 o. The liver and its functions : Alcohol, in every form and proportion, has long been known to exert a strong and speedy influence on this organ, when used internally. A- ware of this fact, the poultry dealers of England, are in the habit of mix- ing a quantity of spirit with the food of their fowls, in order to increase the size of the liver; so that they may be enabled to supply to the epi- cure a greater abundance of that part of the animal, which he regards as the most delicious. The influence of spirit on the liver is exerted in two ways : First, the impression made upon the mucous coat of the stomach, is exten- ded to the liver by sympathy : the second mode of action is through the medium of the circulation, and by the immediate action of the alco- holic principle on the liver itself, as it passes through the organ, ming- led with the blood. In whichsoever of these way sit operates, its first ef- fect is to increase the action of the liver, and sometimes to such a de- gree as to produce inflammation. Its secretion becomes changed from a bright yellow to a green or black, and from a thin fluid to a substance resembling tar in its consistence. There soon follows also an enlarge- ment of the liver and a change in its organic structure. I have met with se- veral cases in which the liver has become enlarged from intemperance, so as to occupy a greater part of the cavity of the abdomen, and weighing from eight to twelve pounds, when it should have weighed not more than four or five. ♦ The liver sometimes, however, even when it manifests great morbid change in its organic structure, is rather diminished than increased in its volume. This was the case in the person of the celebrated stage ac- tor, George Frederick Cook, who died a few years since in the city of New York. This extraordinary man was long distinguished for the profligacy of his life, as well as for the native vigour of his mind and body. At the time of his death the body was opened by Dr. Hosack, who found that the liver did not exceed its usual dimensions, but was aston- ishingly hard, of a lighter colour than natural, and that its texture was so dense as to make considerable resistance to the knife. The blood ves- sels, which in a healthy condition are extremely numerous and large, were in this case nearly obliterated, evincing that the regular circula- tion through the liver, had long since ceased; and tubercles were found throughout the whole substance of the organ. 12 This case present's a correct idea of the state of the liver, in a majority of tiiose who survive the first shock which the system receives from in- temperance, and where the disease which it produces assumes a chronic form. I have met with several cases in the course of my dissections, in which the liver was found smaller than natural, schrivelled, indurated, its blood vessels diminished in size and number, with the whole of its inter- nal structure more or less changed. In consequence of these morbid chan- ges in the liver, other organs become affected, as the spleen, the pan- creas, &c. either by sympathy or in consequence of their dependence onthehealthv functions of the liver for the due performance of their own. 6. Of the Brain and its functions : Inflammation and engorgement ol this organ are frequent consequences of intemperance, and may H/* place dunng a debauch—or may arise some time after, during the stage ol debility, from a loss of the healthy balance of action between the different parts of the system. This in- flammation is sometimes acute, is marked by furious delirium, and ter- minates fatally in the course of a few days, and sometimes a few hours. At other times it assumes a chronic form, continues much longer; and then frequently results in an effusion of serum, or an extravasation of blood, and the patient dies in a state of insensibility, with all the symp- onis of compressed brain. Sometimes the system becomes so saturated with ardent spirit, that there is good reason to believe, the effusions vvhie3» taka place in the cavities of the brain, and elsewhere, are com- posed in part at least, of the alcoholic principle. The following case nccurred, not long since, in England, and is attested by unquestionable authority. A man was taken up dead in the streets of London, soon after having drank a quart of gin, on a wager. He was carried to the Westminster Hospital, and there dissected. " In the ventricles of the brain was fbund a considerable quantity of limpid fluid, distinctly impregnated with gin, both to the sense of smell and taste, and even to the test of in- flammability. The liquid appeared to the senses of the examining stu- dents, as strong as one-third gin, and two-thirds water." Dr. Armstrong, who has enjoyed very ample opportunity of investiga- ting this subject, speaks of the chronic inflammation of the brain and its membranes, as frequently proceeding from the free use of strong liquors. It is a fact familiar to every anatomist, that alcohol, even when greatly diluted, has, by its action on the brain after death, the effect of harden- 13 mg it, as well as most of the tissues of the body which contain albumen, and it is common to immerse the brain in ardent spirit for a few days, in order to render it the firmer for dissection. On examining the brain after death, of such as have long been accus- tomed to the free use of ardent spirit, it is said the organ is generally found harder than in temperate persons. It has no longer that delicate and elastic texture. Its arteries become diminished in size, and lose their transparency, while the veins and sinuses are greatly distended and irregularly enlarged. This statement is confirmed by my own dissections, and they seem also to be in full accordance with all the intellectual and physical phenomena displayed in the drunkard, while living. 7. The heart and its functions : It has generally been supposed, that the heart is less frequently affect- ed by intemperance, than most of the other great vital organs; but, from the history of the cases which have come under my own observa- tion, I am convinced that it seldom escapes disease under the habitual use of ardent spirit. And why should it, since it is thrown almost per- petually into a state of unnatural exertion, the very effect produced by the violent agitation of the passions, the influence of which upon this or- gan is found so injurious. The following case came under my notice, a few winters since.—A large athletic man, long accustomed to the use of ardent spirit, on drink- ing a glass of raw whiskey, dropped instantly dead. On carefully dis- secting the body, no adequate cause of the sudden cessation of life could be found in any part, except the heart. This organ was free from blood, was hard and firmly contracted, as if affected by spasm. I am con- vinced that many of those cases of sudden death which take place with intemperate persons is the result of a spasmodic action of the heart, from sympathy with the stomach, or some other part of the system. The use of ardent spirit, no doubt, promotes also the ossification of the valves of the heart, as well as the developement of other organic affections. S. The lungs and their functions : Respiration in the inebriate is generally oppressed and laborious, and especially after eating, or violent exercise; and he is teased with a cough, attended with copious expectoration, and especially after his re- covery from a fit of intoxication ; and these symptoms go on increasing, and unless arrested in their progress, terminate in eoi^tmption. J 4 Tins affection of the lungs is produced in two ways : first, by the immediate action of the alcoholic principle upon the highly sensible membrane which lines the trachea, bronchial vessels, and air cells of the lungs as poured out by the exhalants : and second, by the sympathy which is called into action between the lungs and other organs, already in a state of disease, and more especially, that of the stomach and liver. I have met with many cases in the course of my practice, of cough and difficult breathing, which could be relieved only by regulating the functions of the stomach, and which soon yielded, on the patient ceasing to irritate this organ with ardent spirit. I have found the liver still more frequently the source of this affection, and on restoring the organ to its healthy condition, by laying aside the use of ardent spirits, all the pulmonary symptoms have subsided. On examining the lungs of the drunkard after death, they are fre- quently found adhering to the walls of the chest; hepatized,or affected with tubercles. But time would fail me, were I to attempt an account of half the pa- thology of drunkenness. Dyspepsia, Jaundice, Emaciation, Corpulence, Dropsy, Ulcers, Rhcumutism, Gout, Tremors, Palpitation, Hysteria, Epi- lepsy, Palsy, Lethargy, Apoplexy, Melancholy, Madness, Delirium-tre- mens, and Premature old age, compose but a small part of the catalogue of diseases produced by ardent spirit. Indeed, there is scarcely a morbid affection to which the human body is liable, that has not, in one way or another, been produced by it; there is not a disease but it has aggravated, nor a predisposition to disease, which it has not called into action ; and although its effects are in some degree modified by age and temperament, by habit and occupation, by climate and season of the year, and even by the intoxicating agent itself; yet, the general and ultimate consequences are the same. But I pass on to notice one state of the system, produced by ardent spirit, too important and interesting to leave unexamined. It is that pre- disposition to disease and death which so strongly characterizes the drunkard in every situation of life. It is unquestionably true, that many of the surrounding objects in na- ture, are constantly tending to man's destruction. The excess of heat and cold, humidity and dryness, the vicissitudes of the season, noxious exhalations from the earth, the floating atoms in the atmosphere, the 15 poisonous vapours from decomposed animal and vegetable matter, with many other invisible agents, are exerting their deadly influence; and were it not that every part of his system is endowed with a self-preserv- ing power, a principle of excitability, or in other words, a vital prin- ciple, the operations of the economy would cease, and a dissolution of his organic structure take place. But this principle being implanted in the system, re-action takes place, and thereby a vigorous contest ia maintained with the warring elements without, as well as with the prin- ciple of decay within. It is thus that man is enabled to endure from year to year, the toils and fatigues of life, the variation of heat and cold, and the vicissitudes of the season—that he is enabled to traverse every region of the globe, and to live with almost equal ease under the equator, and in the frozen re- gions of the north. It is by this power that all his functions are per- formed, from the commencement to the close of life. The principle of excitability exists in the highest degree in the infant, and diminishes at every succeeding period of life ; and if man is not cut down by disease or violence, he struggles on, and finally dies a natural death -r a death occasioned by the exhaustion of the principle of excita- bility. It is also true, that artificial stimulus in whatever way applied, tends constantly to exhaust the principle of excitability of the system, and this in proportion to its intensity, and the freedom with which it is ap- plied. But there is still another principle on which the use of ardent spirit >rcdisposes the drunkard to disease and death. It acts on the blood, im- pairs its vitality, deprives it of its red colour, and thereby renders it un- fit to stimulate the heart, and other organs through which it circulates ; unfit also, to supply the materials for the different secretions, and to re- novate the different tissues of the body, as well as to sustain the energy of the brain ; offices which it can perform only, while it retains its vermilion colour, and other arterial properties. The blood of the drunkard is several shades darker in its colour, than that of temperate persons, and also coagulates less readily and firmly, and is loaded with serum; appearances which indicate that it has exchanged its arterial properties for those of the venous blood. This is the cause of the livid comolexionofthc inebriate, which so strongly marks him in the ad- ranced stage of intemperance. Hence, too. all the functions of his bodv lti are sluggish, irregular, and the whole system loses its tone and its ener- gy. If ardent spirit, when taken into the system, exhausts the vital principle of the solids, it destroys the vital principle of the blood also ; and if taken in large quantities, produces sudden death ; in which case the blood, as in death produced by lightning, by opium, or by violent and long continued exertion, does not coagulate. The principles laid down are plain, and of easy application to the case before us. The inebriate, having by the habitual use of ardent spirit, exhausted to a greater or less extent, the principle of excitability in the solids, the power of reaction; and the blood having become incapable of per- forming its office also,he isalike predisposed to every disease, and ren- dered liable to the inroads of every invading foe. So far, therefore, from protecting the system against disease, intemperance ever consti- tutes one of its strongest predisposing causes. Superadded to this, whenever disease does lay its grasp upon the drunkard, the powers of life being already enfeebled by the stimulus of ardent spirit, he unexpectedly sinks in the contest, and but too frequent- ly to the mortification of his physician, and the surprize and grief of his friends. Indeed, inebriation so enfeebles the powers of life, so modifies the character of disease, and so changes the operation of medical agents, that unless the young physician has studied thoroughly the constitution of the drunkard, he has but partially learned his profession, and is not St for a practitioner of the present age. These are the true reasons why the drunkard dies so easily,and from such slight causes. A sudden cold, a pleurisy, a fever, a fractured limb, or a slight wound of the skin, is often more than his shattered powers can endure. Even a little excess of exertion, an exposure to heat or cold, a hearty repast or a glass of cold water, not unfrequently extinguishes the small remains of the vital principle. In the season that has just closed upon us, we have had a melancholy exhibition of the effect of intemperance in the tragical death of some dozens of our fellow citizens ; and had the extreme heat which prevail- ed for several days, continued for as many weeks, wc should hardly have had a confn nied drunkard left among us. Many of those- deaths which came under my notice seemed almost spontaneous, and