628 
OBSERVATIONS ON COLIC. 
told him I saw no immediate danger. If the bowels could be 
moved, the result would be favourable ; but while saying this, I 
stated that it was impossible to speak confidently, as sometimes 
medicines failed to operate, and occasionally, when they acted, su- 
perpurgation and inflammation set in. There were, therefore, two 
chances against and one for the issue ; but in that one I was in- 
clined to trust, though the condition of the animal made the pros- 
pect a little dubious. 
When I stated this, my hopes were greater than I confessed ; 
but experience has taught me that a proprietor bears misfortune 
better when his expectations are not too warmly excited; and I 
dislike the system of speaking confidently when we cannot look 
into futurity, and the state of our knowledge does not permit us 
to interpret accurately every symptom. In abdominal disease the 
veterinary surgeon is always more or less in the dark, and it is 
folly to boast of comprehending all about that of which we too 
often are able to make out but very little. Therefore I spoke 
guardedly, and concluded by acknowledging that there very pro- 
bably was present something of which I was ignorant ; yet, from 
all I could discover, there seemed to be no reason for alarm. 
The manger and rack were ordered to be cleared, and the bed 
raked back, so that, if disposed, the horse might not eat it. A drachm 
of calomel was shaken upon the tongue, and a drink consisting of 
seven drachms of solution of aloes, two ounces of rectified spirits, 
and two drachms of the carbonate of ammonia, was administered. 
I took the precaution of rubbing a little aloeticmass upon the teeth, 
plastering it about the gums, with the intention of disgusting the 
horse with food, and making certain that he would not eat, even 
should he obtain a chance of doing so. 
The next morning, before I entered the stable, I met the coach- 
man, who slept on the premises, and who had been told to call me 
up if any thing attracted his attention. His report was, that the 
horse had been quiet during the night, and was evidently better. 
The stableman, however, informed me the animal had slipped its 
halter in the night, but, as the teeth were not free from the aloes, 
I rather congratulated myself upon the artifice I had adopted than 
cared for the accident. On inspection, the horse seemed better : 
the coat was more smooth, the eye brighter, the membranes were 
nearer to their natural colour, and the restlessness less conspicu- 
ous ; altogether, there was a marked improvement : but, never- 
theless, there was a little to be discerned that seemed to indicate 
all was not quite right, although I am certain, had I then retired, 
the proprietor would not have thought me premature in my con- 
clusion. I do not think any one who was not a member of our 
profession would have imagined there was any necessity for fur- 
