126 BRONCHITIS. 
Even the wheels and bars of polished iron, however, require care or they 
soon become useless; the thews and sinews of a living body cannot be 
abused with impunity. So plain a truth should be acknowledged by 
something more than words. Life and functions connect men and ani- 
mals. Their habits may be dissimilar and their food not alike; but, 
when we consider the wants of each, their liabilities and their diseases, 
the approach to actual sameness becomes almost startling. The man 
who can enjoy himself, without bestowing a serious thought upon the 
unfortunate steed which has carried him hither and will bear him hence, 
deserves to lose the life of which he is so culpably careless. Change the 
places of the two existences. Let the horse be rendered comfortable 
and the man be stationed outside. The result would be the same: the 
man would in that case probably suffer from bronchitis. Does intelligence 
require a more startling evidence of the link which binds master and 
servant while sojourners upon this earth ? 
Bronchitis is indeed a painful malady. Originally situated upon and 
confined to the membrane lining the air tubes, it has an aptitude to in- 
volve the entire contents of the thorax. Being the ailment of mucous 
membranes, it requires cautious treatment. A small blood-letting may 
induce the prostration no tonics can remove; a slight dose of aloes often 
starts up the purgation no astringents will check. It is agile at metas- 
tisis. It too often leaves behind the evidence of its visitation. Add to 
all this, that though so much to be feared, it does not announce its advent 
with a thundering double knock. It creeps on insidiously, and comes in 
so gradual a form, as if it intended to deceive the groom. The appetite, 
during the primary stage, is often unaffected, nay, is sometimes increased. 
Stable-men have a strong prejudice where feeding is concerned. The 
most educated of the class can imagine nothing more than a slight 
cold, while the corn is only partially consumed. Thus the disease, in 
consequence of delay, mounts into fury, before its presence is fully rec- 
ognized. 
Very rarely is the groom’s attention excited during the approach of 
the disorder, or while a short cough simply bespeaks irritation; while 
the breathing is merely excited; while the legs are warm; while the 
mouth is moist, and the nasal membrane only a little deeper in hue than 
is positively consonant with perfect health. No! The stable-man is 
content while any desire for food remains. Let appetite be quite gone; 
let the horse be averse to move ; the cough sore, but evidently suppressed 
and painful; the breathing quick and audible; the nasal membrane 
violently scarlet ; the mouth hot, dry, and clammy; the legs and body 
of uneven temperatures— here, cold as ice—there, of a dusty heat. 
When danger cannot be mistaken, and hope has almost fled, then the 
