BILIOUSNESS. 127 



always detect them. When he was a boy studying with a private tutor, a friend, as 



a practical joke, put a hare under a sofa in the room in which he was sitting, and the 



an imiiK'diate and very serious attack of asthma. A lady who was subject 



not only to cat-asthma, but to hare-asthma, tells us that on one occasion she was 



! with a terrible attack whilst on a rail way journey. She was unable to account 



in any way, until a gentleman getting out of the carriage took a hare from 



i th the seat. This same lady was unable to wear a cloak made of certain skins, 



from the shortness of breath it produced. 



Respecting the treatment of these cases, we have nothing to add to what we have 

 ;id when speaking of asthma. When once the exciting cause is known it 



is easily avoided. 



f 



BILIOUSNESS CONGESTION OF THE LIVER LIVER DERANGEMENT 

 LIVER OUT OF ORDER. 



Nothing is more common than to hear people say that they are bilious, and that 

 their liver is out of order. No one supposes that it is a serious complaint, but it 

 is uncommonly disagreeable while it lasts. There can be no doubt that the. liver 

 is often credited with symptoms with which it has little or no concern, and on the 

 other hand symptoms are often referred to other organs which undoubtedly have 

 their origin, in. the liver. 



We will, iii the first place, consider what are the causes of derangement of the 

 liver, and how it is that it so often goes wrong. We fear that errors in diet have 

 a great deal to do with it. There can be no doubt that the present system of living, 

 and especially the consumption of even what are regarded as average qi&ntities of 

 rich food and stimulating drinks, have much to answer for. It will be generally 

 admitted, and it would not be difficult to prove, that most people eat more than is 

 good for them more than suffices to maintain the nutrition of the body. Of course, 

 we do not mean that you individually take too much; but still, if you look round 

 at your neighbours you will at once perceive that the amount of food they take is 

 positively disgusting. Much of this excess is passed off by the bowels, but a great 

 desil of it is taken up by the blood, and -accumulates in the system, upsetting the 

 liver. With regard to different kinds of food, we know that the liver is most apt 

 to be deranged by sweet or fatty substances. Derangement of the liver is in many 

 people more likely to be induced by even small quantities of these substances than 

 moderate excess of meat. Rich sauces and sweets are very apt to disagree. 

 There are also certain peculiarities with regard to many articles of diet, which always 

 derange the liver in certain individuals, though they are comparatively harmless to 

 otht 



But above all, alcoholic drinks are the most likely to cause liver derangement. 

 They act injuriously in two ways. In the first place, even small quantities of 

 alcohol in healthy people produce a temporary congestion of the liver ; and if the 

 alcohol be taken in excess, or too frequently, the congestion becomes permanent, 

 and the functions of the organ are deranged. But wines, and in fact most alcoholic 

 drinks, contain large quantities of sugar ; and this, as we have seen, proves especially 



