256 (yn Chronic Debility 



threatening, I believe to be rarely met with. Thous'li 

 her eyes were open, she appeared wholly insensible, and 

 her pulse was threadlike, iiiittering, and apparently on the 

 point of retiring finally. I had not long to deliberate. 

 She had lost several teeth. I attempted to pour some- 

 thing through the passage down her throat, but the mus- 

 cles of the fauces and cheeks, and the tongue, partook of 

 the disease to such a degree, that every attempt was fruit- 

 less. The liquid immediately ran out at the sides of her 

 mouth, and not a drop was swallowed. It occurred to 

 me that I might possibly attain my object^ by ix}uring a 

 drop or two of volatile spirits of ammonia into one of her 

 }iostrils. Having a small quantity of it near at hand, 

 which was highly pungent, i went for it, and after I re- 

 turned, in attempting to accomplish my object, some of 

 the bystanders being curious to see what I was about, hit 

 my elbow. In consequence of this, about a teaspoonful 

 was forced into her nose, and as her head was at this time 

 bent greatly backward by spasm, it all reached her throat. 

 In a moment her whole body became relaxed ; she was 

 seized with the most violent coughing which I ever wit- 

 nessed ; but soon recovered so far as to speak, and ap- 

 peared to be greatly distressed. The coughing was so 

 extremely severe, and continued so long without abate- 

 ment, and the appearances of strangulation were so threat- 

 ening, that the bystanders v/ere terrified, and I was at a 

 loss for a few minutes concerning the consequences. In 

 a little time, however, she became so far composed, that 

 she was able to swallow sixty drops of laudanum. In 

 ten minutes from this time, her tetanus returned with as 

 much violence as before. I resorted to the same meas- 

 ures to restore her, as in the former instance, except that 

 a few drops only of the spirits of ammonia were adminis- 

 tered. This had the desired effect, without producing a 

 very distressing cough. As that subsided, I gave her 

 sixty drops of laudanum the second time. As often as 

 she appeared relapsing into her former state, the volatile 

 alkali was used, and before two o'clock in the morning, I 

 had given her three hundred drops of laudanum. As 

 she then appeared in a great measure composed, I desist- 

 ed. The ensuing day she was pretty well. Acidity in 



