2io Anatomical Examination 



being connected with the change of air, which through 

 the whole course of life had been inhaled of perfect 

 purity, light, cool, and mobile, whereby the praecordia 

 and lungs were more freely ventilated and cooled ; but 

 in this great advantage, in this grand cherisher of life 

 this city is especially destitute ; a city whose grand 

 characteristic is an immense concourse of men and 

 animals, and where ditches abound, and filth and offal 

 lie scattered about, to say nothing of the smoke 

 engendered by the general use of sulphureous coal 

 as fuel, whereby the air is at all times rendered heavy, 

 but much more so in the autumn than at any other 

 season. Such an atmosphere could not have been 

 found otherwise than insalubrious to one coming from 

 the open, sunny, and healthy region of Salop ; it must 

 have been especially so to one already aged and infirm. 



And then for one hitherto used to live on food 

 unvaried in kind, and very simple in its nature, to be 

 set at a table loaded with variety of viands, and tempted 

 not only to eat more than wont, but to partake of strong 

 drink, it must needs fall out that the functions of all 

 the natural organs would become deranged. Whence 

 the stomach at length failing, and the excretions long 

 retained, the work of concoction proceeding languidly, 

 the liver getting loaded, the blood stagnating in the 

 veins, the spirits frozen, the heart, the source of life, 

 oppressed, the lungs infarcted, and made impervious 

 to the ambient air, the general habit rendered more 

 compact, so that it could no longer exhale or perspire 

 no wonder that the soul, little content with such a 

 prison, took its flight. 



The brain was healthy, very firm and hard to the 

 touch ; hence, shortly before his death, although he 

 had been blind for twenty years, he heard extremely 

 well, understood all that was said to him, answered 

 immediately to questions, and had perfect apprehension 

 of any matter in hand ; he was also accustomed to walk 

 about, slightly supported between two persons. His 



