44 THE BIOLOGY OF DAILY LIFE. 



would such a charge be received. Until passion had 

 cooled down, and scope was given for calm reason to 

 exercise itself, what chance would there be of a 

 hearing for so painful, so cruel, so apparently wanton 

 and wicked a denunciation ! 



Now I charge with being the disease-factor in man 

 that reputed portion of the human organism, which is 

 regarded by most physiologists, and by all the readers 

 of popularized science, as the very source and origin 

 of the body, the structural unit, by whose proto- 

 plasmic power the whole bodily frame is formed. 



This is the " white corpuscle" (so-called) " of the 

 blood." 



It will be absolutely necessary for the reader to 

 understand fully and accurately the present state 

 of scientific teaching in regard to the blood. I 

 must therefore trouble him with full and long quota- 

 tions from the very highest and newest physiological 

 works all of them from the writings of authorized 

 and eminent teachers in the schools of medicine. 



I shall respect the feelings of the general reader, 

 whom I assume (if I may presume to hope I shall 

 interest any) to be of either sex, and will introduce 

 no needless or unpleasant medical detail, but above 

 all I shall try to be accurate and full, and give ample 

 authority for each statement, giving also the references, 

 so that any reader can easily see for himself, whether 

 the author is fairly quoted and interpreted. 



I extract a description of the Blood from the 

 fourth edition of "Elements of Histology," by E. 

 Klein, M.D. : 



" Under the microscope blood appears as a 

 transparent fluid, the liquor sang uinisvi plasma, 



