316 THE SPECIAL SENSES 



who use liquor habitually, though not to the extent of intoxi- 

 cation. This form of gradually growing "color-blindness" 

 becomes a matter of highest importance, since it may occur 

 in a railroad engineer, or pilot, who drinks, or in the case of 

 some official responsible for the lives and limbs of travelers by 

 steam. No persons who indulge in alcoholic beverages can 

 safely be allowed to occupy trusts of this nature. 



112. Effect of Alcohol on Other Senses. Hearing and taste 

 are dulled by alcohol. Touch is indirectly robbed of its 

 efficiency in a certain proportion of cases, where a tremor of 

 the muscles of the arm, or the " palsy of drunkards," occurs. 

 Fine penmanship or drawing, and the use of keen-edged tools, 

 depend upon a delicate employment of touch ; but with a hand 

 that shakes like the palsied limb of an aged man, this becomes 

 an impossibility. In this way has alcohol deprived many a 

 man of the means of his livelihood. This is said to be espe- 

 cially true of those who belong to the class of topers who 

 drink little and often. (Read Note IB, page 238.) 



113. False Apparitions due to Alcohol Delirium Tremens. 

 In certain diseases the eyes appear to see objects that do not 

 in reality exist within their view. High fever is one of these 

 diseases ; delirium tremens, or " the horrors," experienced by 

 some hard drinkers, is another. The latter condition is marked 

 by a variety of terrifying and loathsome creatures; if there 

 be any form of reptile that is especially repulsive to the 

 delirious person, this is the form that is most liable to haunt 

 him. These false images may be dimly seen at first, but as 

 the disease progresses they generally become perfectly distinct, 

 and real, and torturing; many a victim has thrown himself 

 down from a window, regardless of its height, in his eager 

 haste to escape from his unreal visions. Alarming sounds, also, 

 are heard in some cases of this disorder. 



114. The Effect of Tobacco upon Vision. Oculists are nearly 

 unanimous in the opinion that impairment of sight and even 



'112. Other senses? 



113. Are unreal objects ever seen as real ? How ia delirium tremene described ? 



114. Has tobacco any influence over vision f 



