294 
THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY 
trial of which should not be omitted, if the poison was de- 
stroyed at first by cutting; neither if the bite has happened 
some time, nor even when the following symptoms have 
taken place: the part bitten becoming tender and inflamed, 
uneasiness snd stupidity, frightful dreams, convulsions, 
eyes red and watery, pain all over the body, difficulty in 
swallowing, great thirst, and when liquid, is only brought 
before the patient he appears choked, accompanied with 
trembling and shivering over the whole body; vomiting 
bile frequently occurs, attended with great thirst and fever: 
the last symptoms are raging and foaming at the mouth, 
spitting at the bystanders, and strong convulsions, as if 
drawn double; — no patient should be given over till the 
last moment: the mercurial friction should be tried, and 
fhe prescribed medicine given while he exists, as there is 
hope of recovery by perseverance in the foregoing method. 
‘‘The patient should be kept on very low diet, and no 
spirits or wine be used.” 
The following are the progressive symptoms of hydropho- 
bia: when a Dog becomes melancholy, droops his head, 
forbears eating, seems to forget his former habits, and as he 
runs snatches at every thing: if he often looks upwards, 
and that his tail at its setting on be rather erect, and the rest 
of it hanging down; if his eyes be red, his breath strong, 
his voice hoarse, and that he drivels and foams at the 
mouth, you may be satisfied of the approaches of hydro- 
phobia; and the only thing that should be done is instantly 
to despatch him, however great a favourite he may be. If 
at this period he should remain at liberty, he will certainly 
leave his home: he goes as fast as he can; and the mischief 
that may happen, owing thus to a mad Dog breaking away, 
and running over an extent of country, is incalculable, as 
he spares no living creature. 
The following accurate description, from the pen of Mr. 
Youatt, appeared in the Sporting Magazine, September, 
1S25: — 
“ The symptoms of rabies in the Dog are the following, 
and nearly in the order in which they usually appear: — An 
earnest licking, or scratching or rubbing, of some particu- 
lar part; sullenness, and a disposition to hide from obser- 
vation; considerable costiveness and occasional vomiting; 
an eager search for indigestible substances — as bits of thread, 
hair, straw, and dung; an occasional inclination to eat its 
own dung, and a general propensity to lap its own urine. 
The two last are perfectly characteristic circumstances. 
The Dog becomes irritable; quarrels with his campanions; 
eagerly hunts and worries the cat; mumbles the hand or 
foot of his master, or perhaps suddenly bites it, and then 
crouches and asks pardon. As the disease proceeds, the 
eyes become red; they have a peculiar bright and fierce 
expression; some degree of strabismus or squinting very 
early appears; not the protrusion of the membrana nicti- 
tans, or haw, over the eye, which, in distemper, often 
gives the appearance of squinting, but an aetual distortion 
of the eyes; the lid of one eye is evidently more contracted 
than the other: twitchings occur round that eye; they gra- 
dually spread over that cheek, and finally over the whole 
face. In the latter stages of the disease, that eye frequently 
assumes a dull green colour, and at length becomes a mass 
of ulceration. 
“After the second day, the Dog usually begins to lose a 
perfect control over the voluntary muscles. He catches at 
his food with an eager snap, as if uncertain whether he 
could seize it; and he often fails in the attempt. He 
either bolts his meat almost unchewed, or in the attempt to 
chew it suffers it to drop from his mouth. This want of 
power over the muscles of the jaw, tongue, and throat, in- 
creases, until the lower jaw becomes dependent, the tongue 
protrudes from the mouth, and is of a dark and almost 
black colour. The animal is able, however, by a sudden 
convulsive effort, to close his jaws, and to inflict a severe 
bite. 
“The Dog is in incessant action: he scrapes his bed toge- 
ther, disposes it under him in various forms, shifts his pos- 
ture every instant — starts up, and eagerly gazes at some 
real or imaginary object: a peculiar kind of delirium comes 
on: he traces the fancied path of some imaginary object 
floating around him: he fixes his gaze intently on some 
spot in the wall or partition, and suddenly plunges and 
snaps at it; his eyes then close, and his head droops; but 
the next moment he starts again to renewed activity: he is 
in an instant recalled from this delirium by the voice of his 
master, and listens attentively to his commands; but as soon 
as his master ceases to address him, he relapses into his 
former mental wandering. 
“ His thirst is excessive, (there is no hydrophobia in the 
Dog) and the power over the muscles concerned in degluti- 
tion being impaired, he plunges his face into the water up 
to the very eyes, and assiduously, but ineffectually, attempts 
to lap . * 
“His desire to do mischief depends much on his previous 
disposition and habits. I have known it not to proceed 
beyond an occasional snap, and then only when purposely 
irritated; but with the fighting Dog the scene is often ter- 
rific. He springs to the end of his chain — he darts with' 
ferocity at some object he conceives to be within his reach 
* In those instances of hydrophobia which have fallen under my notice, 
I have never observed the dog “ plunge his face into the water up to the very 
eyes, and assiduously, but ineffectually, attempt to lap.” On the contrary, 
the animal has always been capable of lapping, and has testified no symp- 
toms of horror or disgust at the sight of fluids : however, in the disease called 
Dumb Madness, I have noticed symptoms similar to the above. 
