DISEASES OF THE OX AND SHEEP. 543 



An inactive liver, whether in man or in animals, leads to all 

 kinds of complications, of which by no means the least serious 

 are those conditions of nervous depression, those habits of 

 looking with gloomy eyes upon the black side of things, those 

 mental self-torturings which cannot but make life burdensome, 

 and altogether devoid of gaiety and happiness. Certain it is 

 that many persons give way to feelings of despondency quite 

 unnecessarily, often, too, when the wheel of Dame Fortune is 

 just about to spin round to point favourably and bring prosperity 

 to all who deserve it. Nothing is so damaging to the constitu- 

 tion, nothing so sure to bring failure in its train, nothing so 

 likely to render confusion trebly confounded, the darkness fifty 

 times more black, than is a miserable state of mind, the 

 inevitable result of a clogged-up liver, especially if it be coupled 

 with scant means. 



Such a state is one of the many evils, or rather one of the 

 many horrors, which men have to guard against. Hence we 

 take this opportunity of repeating to those about to lose heart, 

 to those who are sinking under burdens and well-nigh giving 

 way, and d fortiori to those who have any idea whatsoever of 

 committing either moral or physical suicide — " Don't — don^t — 

 don^t I " Per contra, if it is at all possible to do so, pack up 

 your portmanteau at once, and get away as quick as you can to 

 the sea-side, or some invigorating place, even if it is only for a 

 week, or even tor the day. It is simply astonishing what benefit 

 a plentiful supply of ozone will bring, and how it will enable a 

 man to throw off a load of trouble. If you have occasion to 

 suspect that the liver's wheels require a little oiling, never mind 

 what people may think, but go on the sands, jump on a donkey's 

 back, take measures to make the animal gallop if you can — 

 that will make your liver work — and come back like a giant 

 refreshed with an alcoholic stimulant. 



There are many causes which may bring on torpidity of the 

 liver in man. In the production of this disorder, a prolonged 

 residence m tropical climes, sedentary habits and pursuits, and 

 want of exercise, however arising, excessive or undue indul- 

 gence in alcoholic liquors, are all well-known factors. We are 

 not now, of course, speaking of acute inflammation of the liver 

 — to that we shall come in due course — but to that insidious 

 aflfection of it which is of slow and gradual growth. The 



