COMMUNICAIIONS AND EXTRACTS. 123 



bacco. The father writes that his son is smoking to- 

 bacco night and day, converting day into night, and 

 having no appetite : as for his legal studies, they have 

 fled for ever. 



134. Mr. Turton, in an interesting communication on 

 the evil effects of tobacco smoking, as read before the 

 Royal Medical Society, on 20th February, 1857, says : 



" I will adduce another instance of the evil effects 

 of excessive smoking on the nervous system, as affecting 

 the procreative powers — I allude to the case of an emi- 

 nent author in the literary world, of the highest graphic 

 historical writing, who from his earliest manhood has 

 daily handled the quill, and between whose lips cigar 

 has followed cigar in endless succession. He married 

 when young ; and although not yet sixty years of age, 

 and of rather abstemious habits, it is well known that, 

 for upwards of the last twenty years — such have been 

 the effects of mental excitement from intense study, and 

 of cerebral affection and influence on the sensorial nerves 

 from excessive and persistent tobacco smoking — all mari- 

 tal connection between his wife and him has been sus- 

 pended ; that the poor woman might have been, during 

 that period, as well banished or divorced, she has been 

 go wholly deprived of her lawful pleasures." 



" Professor Millar," says Mr. Turton, " mentioned on 

 Wednesday, 18th February, 1857, to the gentlemen of 

 his class, an interesting case of a gentleman about thirty- 

 five years of age, who is suffering from paraplegia, 

 caused by tobacco smoking. When this gentleman dis- 

 continued smoking for a few days, a marked improve- 

 ment of the symptoms supervened ; but the moment he 



