remarkable Effects of a Shipwreck. 
213 
EXPERIMENT VII. 
The effects of forty-five minutes immersion in the cold salt- 
water bath, at 40 0 , were proposed to be tried on Richard 
Sutton. He was much under the impressions of fear, and his 
heat previously raised the mercury only to 94 0 . The mercury 
sunk, as usual, on his immersion, but to an unusual degree. 
It did not stop in its fall till it got to 83°, which perhaps might 
be in part accounted for by the extraordinary chattering of 
his teeth, admitting some contact of the air. It then mounted 
in the usual irregular way, and at the end of thirteen minutes 
had got to 92 0 . Here it stood for nineteen minutes longer 
with little variation ; at the end of this time it began to fall 
rapidly, though irregularly, and in three minutes was down 
at 85°. He had now been thirty-five minutes in the water, 
and I did not think it safe to detain him longer ; we there- 
fore hurried him into a warm bath, heated to 96°, where he 
shivered much. The bath was heated gradually to 109°, 
and in this heat he recovered his proper temperature in about 
twenty-eight minutes. Being then put into a warm bed, he fell 
into a profuse perspiration, which left him in his usual health. 
One general remark will serve for the pulse in all these ex- 
periments. It was not possible to keep the subjects of them 
from some degree of previous agitation, and this always 
quickened the pulse. The natural pulse of Edwards was 
about 70 in the minute ; but it may be observed, that it was 
never slower than 85 before immersion, and generally more. 
However this might be, it invariably sunk to 65, or from that 
to 68, in the water, became firm, regular, and small. After 
being long in the bath, it could hardly be felt at the wrist, but 
mdccxcii. F f 
