254 THE REASON WHY. 



"Ke not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything 



before God : for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth ; therefore let thy 



words be few." ECCLESIASTES v. 



The last impression on the brain before death is always more terrible from fear 

 than any other cause, and figures impressed on the pupil more distinct, which 

 w attribute to the largeness of the optic nerve, and its free communication with 

 the brain." Whether the supposition, which seems to be supported by the 

 experiment above detailed, be correct or not, it is in no sense more wonderful 

 than the facts which are already known respecting this curious aud perfect organ. 



The nose is given us for two purposes to enable us to respire and to smell. 

 As odours arise from the surface of the earth, the cup or funnel of the nose 

 is turned down to meet them. In the nostrils hair again serves a useful 

 purpose. It not only warms the air which enters the nostrils, but it springs 

 out from all sides, and forms an intersecting net, closing the nostrils against 

 tlust, and the intrusion of small insects. If by any means, as when taking a 

 sharp sniff, foreign matters enter the nostrils, the nose is armed with a set of 

 nerves which communicate the fact to certain muscles, and the organs of 

 respiration unite with those muscles to expel the intruding substances. In this 

 action, the diaphragm, or the muscle which divides the abdomen from the 

 chest, is pressed down, the lungs are filled with air, the passage by which that 

 air would otherwise escape through the mouth, is closed up, and then, all at 

 once, with considerable force, the air is pressed through the nostrils, to fr> 

 them from the annoying substance. So great is the force with which this 

 action takes place, that the passage into the mouth is generally pushed open 

 occasioning the person in whom the action takes place, to cry " 'tsha !" and 

 thus is formed what is termed a sneeze. As with the eye, so with the nose 

 innumerable nerves are distributed over the lining membrane, and these nerves 

 are connected with larger nerves passing to the brain, through which 

 everything relating to the sense of smell is communicated. 



The nose acts like a custom-house officer to the system. It is highly sensitive 

 to the odour of most poisonous substances. It readily detects hemlock, 

 henbane, monk's hood, and the plants containing prussic acid. It recognises 

 the foeted smell of drains, and warns us not to breathe the polluted air. The 

 nose is so sensitive, that air containing a 200,000th part of bromine vapour will 

 instantly be detected by it. It will recognise the I,b00,000th part of a grain of 

 otto of roses, or the 13,000,000th part of a grain of musk ! It tells ns in the 

 mornings that our bed-rooms are impure ; it catches the first fragrance of the 

 morning air, and conveys to us the invitation of the flowers to go forth into the 

 fields, and inhale their sweet breath. To be "led by the nose," has hitherto been 

 used as a phrase of reproach. But to have a good nose, and to follow its 

 guidance, is one of the safest and shortest ways to the enjoyment of health. 



The mouth answers the fourfold purpose of the organ of taste, of sound, of 

 mastication, and of breathing. In all of these operations, except in breathing, 

 the various parts of the mouth are engaged. In eating we us*e the lips, tho 

 tongue, and the teeth. The teeth serve the purpose of grinding the food, tho 

 tongue turns it during the process of grinding, and delivers it up to the throat 

 for the purposes of the stomach, when sufficiently masticated. The lips serve to 

 confine the food in the mouth, and assist in swallowing it, and there are glands 

 underneath the tongue, and in the sides of the mouth, which pour in a fluid to 

 moisten the food. And so watchful are those glands of their duty, that the mere 

 imagination frequently causes them to act. Their fluid is required to modify 



