It is even thought unnatural for a King to enjoy a whole night's rest. Now pleafing fleep had seal'd each mortal eye, th' Immortals flumber'd on their thrones above; To honour THETIS' fon, he bends his care, Then bids an empty phantom rife to fight, Fly hence, deluding dream! and light as air, Bid him in arms draw forth th' embattel'd train, Swift as the word the vain illufion fled, Canft thou, with all a monarch's cares oppreft, &c. The phantom faid; then vanish'd from his fight, refolves to air, and mixes with the night. In In the cafe of Lord LYTTELTON, the want of Sleep is attributed as the cause of his death. Intense thought puts the brain into a state more or less unapt for rest, and a multitude of facts, in the ingenious tract of TISSOT on the Diseases of Literary Characters, prove, that the aptitude of the brain, to reftore by fleep, the impaired energies of the corporeal functions, may be loft altogether. Much it imports, therefore, the ftudious, to limit their learned labours to proper hours, to fupport strength by intervals of exercise in the open air, and to all others to folicit fleep by a seasonable difmiffal of business and of care. * Dr. JOHNSON fays of this nobleman, that he was "Inter doctos nobiliffimus: inter nobiles doctiffimus, inter utrofque optimus: ut enim antiquam generis claritatem eruditione.-Eruditionem, miro vitæ candore decoravit ; sic his omnibus, omnium pulcherrimam apinem, et colophocem addidit, admirabilem animi modeftiam!" Vide Difquifitions relative to the Nervous System, p. 224. SECT. SECT. XLII. OF IMPURE AIR. As the immediate caufe of fleep confifts in the fufpenfion of volition, it follows, that whatever diminishes the general quantity of the irritable principle, or diverts it from the faculty of volition, will conftitute a remote cause of fleep-fuch as fatigue from muscular or mental exertion, which diminishes the general quantity of the irritable principle,-or by increasing of the action of the vascular and absorbent systems, as are the effects of opium, wine, food, &c. which not only by their expendit ture of the irritable principle diminish the quantity of volition, but also by their producing pleasurable fenfations* (which occafion other muscular and fenfual motions in confequence) doubly decrease the voluntary power, and thus more forcibly produce fleep :— lastly, an increase of the fenfitive motions, as by attend *Vide page 212. -or ing ing to foft mufic*, which diverts the irritable principle from the faculty of volition. Another method of inducing fleep, fays the illuftrious Dr. DARWIN, is delivered in a very ingenious work lately published by Dr. BEDDOES, who, after lamenting that opium frequently occafions restleffness, thinks, "that in moft cafes it would be better to induce fleep by the abstraction of fimuli, than by exhausting the excitability;" and adds, "upon this principle we could not have a better foporific than an atmosphere with a dimi nished proportion of oxygen, or vital air, and that common air might be admitted after the patient was afleep." In a fubfequent work, this ingenious phyfician fays, I had formerly been led to infer, "that an atmosphere, "with a diminished proportion of oxygen, would be in fome cafes a better foporific than any we at prefent poffefs, and "I have fince + received confirmation of this opinion." 22 A perfon *BOERHAAVE on fome occafions, in order to procure fleep for his patient, directed water to be placed in such a situation so as continually to drop on a brafs pan. Fontefque lymphis obftrepunt manantibus, fomnos quod invitet leves.HOR. + Vide Confiderations on the Medicinal Use of FACTITIOUS AIRS, to which are added communications from Doctors DARWIN of Derby, WITHER A perfon in a confumption, who for months had taken opium at night, ept perfectly well without opium when he came to refpire HYDROGEN GAS *; his fleep he remarked to be more profound than ufual. The air of his room being loosely mixed with HYDROGEN GAS, his fervant, a very bad fleeper, declared that he did not know what was come to him, he slept fo found. This man neceffarily infpired much HYDROGEN GAS from attend ING of Birmingham, PERCIVAL of Manchester, EWART of Bath, THORNTON of London, JOHNSON of Worcester, GARNET of Harrowgate, PEARSON of Birmingham, FERRIAR of Manchefter, TROTTER from on board Lord Howe's fleet, to which he is phyfician, CARMICAEL of Birmingham, BRIGGS of the ifland Santa Cruz, GIMBERNAT furgeon to the king of Spain, the Rev. Mr. TOWNSEND rector of Pewsey, the Rev. Mr. ATWOOD rector of Saxlingham and Sharrington, Meirs. HILL, PARR, CAPPER, SANDFORD, CHISHOLM, and others. This long enumeration of names is given here to fhew that the design of making the NEW CHEMISTRY fubfervient to mankind is not an idle and ridiculous fpeculation, otherwife would fuch a number, and of such men, for the moft part unconnected but from literary intercourfe, combine in recommending and trying the new remedies which IT has fuggested? Dr. CRAWFORD, phyfician to St. Thomas's hofpital, the celebrated author of a work on Animal Heat (vide page 81), is a new acceffion of force. Having a pulmonary complaint, he placed himself under the care of Dr. THORNTON, and declared to him, that the hydro-carbonic air, which he inhaled diluted with atmospheric, produced a foothing tranquillity, fuch as opium is known fometimes to produce, and he is certain, that the correction of the offenfiveness of his expectoration is wholly to be attributed to this new remedy. Vide the Letters from Dr. THORNTON to Dr. BEDDOES, in his Appendix to Confiderations on the Use of Medicinal Airs. Second edition. VOL. II. * Inflammable air. 3 N ance |
