194 ON ANIMAL AND 



a confused recollection of the persons about him. 

 In this stage of the disease, his tongue is dry, 

 rough, and swelled, and frequently is seen hang- 

 ing out of the mouth his throat is arid, hoarse, 

 and sonorous his eyes red, fierce, and pro- 

 tuding an immense excretion of viscid saliva 

 passes out of the mouth, which the patient in the 

 last stage sometimes endeavours to eject upon 

 his attendants, and sometimes he attempts to bite 

 those immediately within his reach, thence re- 

 quiring personal constraint upon his actions 

 frequent convulsions, which frightfully distort the 

 features, and give a most appaling aspect to the 

 countenance, now very soon supervene ; and in 

 this state, between delirium and returning reason, 

 the afflicted object is released from his sufferings 

 by an overwhelming fit, or by an exhaustion of 

 the vital powers ; the disease, when completely 

 formed, frequently terminating its fatal course 

 within the short period of forty-eight hours. 



This is only to be considered as one form of a 

 disease, which, as previously intimated, is seldom 

 seen in two individuals exactly alike. Its dis- 

 tinguishing features, however, are pretty uniformly 

 present in all instances ; namely in the early 

 stage, great depression of spirits and an alarm 

 about the consequences, anxiety and pain about 

 the praecordia, spasmodic affection of the mus- 

 cles; and as the disease advances, convulsions at 

 the sight of fluids, and great dread of swallowing 



