ae 
= any eg 
‘great emp ee teeete Wome heyinnen sp dhrestes the 
ver expation a affords too many examples of 
BASTING. 
his hands and feet were cold, and pulsation almost ex- _ Fasting. 
ahesheiy meapce little. found thére which is pa- 
e to Europeans; and, as they have no vessel 
which can withstand the action of fire, they are unable 
to reap much advantage from such esculent herbs as 
ay be containedinthem. Their principal subsistence 
on. collecting fish from the reefs at the recess of 
tide ; and the greatest part of the drudgery of do- 
pe Leet) en nb ag ty tome rien A 
es with hunting in theforests. _- 
dent of natural sterility 
of 
1e bark of trees, which, with the addition of a little 
presented not to be unpalatable, while they are suffi- 
ient for the preservation of life. Famine more terri- 
experienced in populous countries, such as occur- 
in. , when’ many, 
the su: of abstinence ; but those 
peculiar mental 
morbid ‘state, or 
neipally 
nt 
sodsualnr 
Pissed ae ace a 
on acavity. He could raise his head, but 
285 
tinct. Immediate relief was afforded ; but next morn- 
ing he became indifferent about food, and, having an- 
nounced his own dissolution, expired in a few minutes, 
on Sunday afternoon, after’ seven days. This 
example illustrates the opinion of Hippocrates, though 
it is not corroborated by others, namely, that fasting 
less than seven days is not invariably. fatal, but after 
that period, notwithstanding individuals may. surviye 
and take food, their previous abstinehce will occasion 
death.. It is to be observed, that here was an instance 
of absolute privation. In the year 1768, Captain Kenne- 
dy was shi eked, with 12 companions, in the West 
Indies. They | served a small quantity of provisions, 
which were ly consumed in seven days, amidstextra- 
ordinary distresses. During eight succeeding days, 
though in absolute want, of meat.and drink, and 
exposed in an boat, the whole survived ; but, af- 
ter obtaining relief, some of the people perished. In 
this case they were evidently supported by being fre- 
quently drenched with sea-water. Sir William Hamil- 
ton, in an account of a dreadful earthquake which de- 
vastated Sicily and Calabria in the year.1783, relates 
that he saw two girls who were miraculously preserved 
in the ruins of ahouse. One had nm eleven en- 
tire days, and the other Six, totally deprived of food. 
_ It must not escape observation, that the difference be- 
tween absolute privation,of food, and a supply of any 
portion of it, is incommensurable. The same may. al- 
most be said of water ; for it materially contributes to 
preserve life :, and hence the difficulties. of ascertaining 
what is truly protracted fasting. The Negro couriers, 
i Stag Nase ig io on the western coast of Adee, 
tiguing journeys on about four 
ounces yi daily... It is Sail that, in common situa- 
tions, both they and the Moors are frequently seen to. 
subsist eight days on three ounces of gum daily, with- 
out diminution of health. or vigour ; and some 
maintain, that they can fast three days without any in- 
convenience. The whole store of a courier at his out- 
set, consists only of a pound of gum, a little grilled rice, 
and several ounces of hard animal jelly, compounded 
with a fourth of its weight in gum. This substance is 
decidedly nutritious ; we are told, that when the 
whole provisions. of a caravan had been exhausted in 
the desarts between .Abyssinia and. a thonsand 
subsisted on which was found to fee 
of the ; and the caravan 
bh am, tole The cor sae one, 
unger or di cony Negro cou~ | 
riers may possess particular qualities in re ay 
ger, such as that which, among the primitive inhabi- 
tants of this island, is said to have proved sufficient, if 
equivalent to a bean, for a whole day ; and some of the 
American Indians, when. i 
have similar ients for 
hip's biscuit divided into a number of 
daily. Captain Inglefield, and eleven men, of the 
taur man of war which fou -at sea in the yeay 
1782, sailed 800 miles in a yawl, while their sole provi- 
sions consisted of a twelfth part of a biscuit for each 
of two meals a day;.and/a glass of water, continued 
