ia Mb desire ; but not a drop of the 'liquid can he swallow, 

 though its surface be covered with bubbles, in consequence of 

 the efifbrts he makes to gulp the smallest quantity. The throat 

 is enlarged to that extent which will permit nothing to pass. 

 His state of suffering is most pitiable. He has lost all self- 

 reliance ; even feeling has gone. He liies at, pulls to pieces, 

 anything within his reach. An animal in this condition being 

 confined near a fire, flew at the burning mass, puUed out the 

 live coals, and, in his fury, crunched them. The noise he 

 makes is incessant and peculiar. It begins as a bark, which 

 sound being too torturing to be continued, is quickly changed 

 to a howl, which is suddenly cut short in the middle ; and so 

 the poor wretch at last falls, worn out by a terrible disease." 



How Hydrophobia (hteraUy, " dread of water," and altogether 

 a wrong name for the disease, as it is clearly proved that when 

 at the height of its madness the desire to drink is unabated, 

 the ability being frustrated by physical causes) is generated 

 is still a mystery. It is certain that the venom lies in 

 the salwa, and that its application to the abrased skin of 

 another animal, without even a touch of the mad dog's 

 teeth, is sufficient to impart the terrible di^ase. Hot weather 

 has been supposed to be favourable to the development of rabies 

 (see Mad Dog bills issued by the poUce in July). But dog 

 doctors generally agree that it is quite as prevalent in the 

 winter. Some writers attribute it to thirst, but the reply to 

 that suggestion is, that whereas in a weU-watered country like 

 England hydrophobia is lamentably common, in scorching 

 Eastern cities it is unknown. Besides, the' latter proposition 

 has been set aside, at least to their own entire satisfaction, by cer- 

 tain scientific Frenchmen, who, with an inhumanity that makes 

 one's flesh creep, and which may not be excused on any ground 

 whatever, caused forty poor dogs to be shut up and hspt with- 

 out water tiU they died. The result was that they (the men, 

 not the dogs), were enabled to show that at least not one out of 

 forty dogs go mad through thirst. One is almost incHned to 

 be cruel enough to wish that the biggest dog of the doomed 

 forty had gone mad and bitten the cruel wretch who proposed 

 the monstrous test. 



Concerning the treatment of a wound caused by a rabid 

 animal, the patient's fright should be allayed as far as pos- 

 sible. He should be impressed with the fact that a bite from 

 a mad dog is by no means certam to produce hydrophobia. 

 He must, however, make up his mind to a rather padnful 



