severe vertigoes ; it was impossible for him to walk without falling : he did not moan, At noon, he laid on 
his side, in great insensibility, his inspirations were few and deep ; the pulsations of the heart natural. He 
died at two o’clock. 
Dissection. — The mucous membrane of the stomach was not red, but exhibited some small ulcers, 
the centres of which were black ; the lungs, though crepitating, contained a small quantity of venous blood. 
— Orfila. 
Medical Properties and Uses. — As a laxative, castor oil acts so mildly and speedily, that it is 
often resorted to in obstinate constipations, and diseases where irritation by other purgatives would be in- 
jurious. Unlike all other purgative medicines, its dose may be often lessened, when the patient is in the 
habit of taking it. Many of the planters in the West Indies, burn the oil in their lamps. 
Dose.— From half an ounce to an ounce and a half, which may be taken floating on peppermint water, 
to which can be added a little tincture of senna, if necessary. Sometimes it is formed into an emulsion, by 
means of mucilage or the yolk of an egg. To prevent nausea or griping from it, a little rum is often em- 
ployed in the West Indies. The most pleasant mode of administration is to float the oil on a little warm 
milk, and immediately after swallowing it to wash the mouth with a small quantity of the same fluid ; no 
disagreeable taste is then perceived. 
“Let us next take a glance,” says an ingenious writer, “ upon the silver Thames, and how many recol- 
lections does it not excite ? What luxury, what vice, what improvement, what sources of human joy and 
human misery has it not from time to time borne on its bosom ! How many sufferers have not rashly sought 
an asylum in its wave ! — how many a verse does it almost now repeat of Pope, or of Gray ! All these asso- 
ciations, however, are more connected with the passions than those which arise from gardens or from flowers. 
In the latter, while the mind enlarges, the passions are stilled; devotion excites our associations, and through 
nature, we look up to nature’s God ! The knowledge that all these various colours and odours will decline 
in certain seasons, produces in us no anxious emotions, because experience shews the colours will bloom 
again, and the perfumes give their breathings to the winds. On the contrary, when we behold a ruin — even 
the simplest monument of ancient grandeur, we heave a sigh over the fate of empires, and feel the hand of 
time already beginning to press heavily on our being. The humblest rivulet or cottage can awaken tender 
associations, as may be found every day, and are perhaps more strikingly remarkable in the case of St. Pierre, 
Gray, and Marmontel. The sight of an old man playing upon an harp, by recalling to the recollection of 
Gray the massacre of the minstrels by Edward the First, prompted him to leave us one of the finest odes 
in the English language ; and Marmontel was led to write the Shepherdess of the Alps by a view of a pic- 
turesque cottage at Cheveniere, which so charmed him, that it called forth those delightful associations every 
where communicated in that interesting tale. The scenes among which our early years were passed, offer 
many sources of joyous reflection ; joys shared by the greatest and the basest of mankind — we need not 
mention the names of Tasso or Spenser, in the former catalogue, nor of a Dioclesian in the other. He who 
knows not the power of association, knows not half the happiness this world can give him, notwithstanding 
all the complaints which are every day made against it. In forming many of those associations the soul ex- 
pands — our nature takes a higher rank, and while they may be but the results of education, they are some 
of the highest satisfactions of our life-time. He can have no poetry in his soul, and no feeling for beauty 
in his heart, who is dead to their allurements. But we do not now intend entering so generally upon the 
subject of association. — There are occasions when we could dispense with its influence ; but they are still 
occasions not the less favourable to moral impressions and results. The temple — the tomb — our native 
spot — our common country — the field of victory or defeat — the animal or vegetable, and the soil of their 
production, call up associations of various influence ; but there are general appearances of nature, which 
may afford nothing worthy of excitement to the vulgar mind, and yet to philosophic eyes present subjects 
of peculiar import and delight ! 
If gardens and flowers thus call up such associations, let us turn for a moment and see their analogies 
to particular affections, strikingly exemplifying the general harmony which subsists throughout the universe. 
It is from similar analogies that the heavenly bodies are considered symbols of majesty; the oak as an 
emblem of strength, the olive of peace, and the willow of sorrow. The yellow-green, which is the robe of 
nature at the close of autumn, was the emblem of chivalry in despair — guilt and anger are designated by red 
— green is the badge of tranquillity — and brown occasionally of melancholy, as well as health. The violet 
has long been regarded as the emblem of modesty — the myrtle, of love — the tulip, of vanity — the mulberry, 
of prudence — the rose, of beauty — the palm, of honour — and the laurel, of victory. Vigour of body and 
mind were, in elder times, represented by branches of palm, and the white violet designated love. The 
amaranth was an emblem of immortality ; and Milton has told us, it bloomed in the garden of Paradise, 
but on man’s disobedience, adds, it was removed to heaven, where it still grows, and with crowns of which, 
he has supposed every angel to be bound. 
