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Selected Messages Book 2
His tongue was thick and swollen, and the saliva was running from his
mouth in large quantities. The intelligent gentleman before mentioned
looked sadly upon the sufferer, and said,—
“This is the influence of mercurial preparations. This young man
had remaining, sufficient nervous energy, to commence a warfare upon
this intruder, this drug-poison to attempt to expel it from the system.
Many have not sufficient life-forces left to arouse to action, and nature
is overpowered and ceases her efforts, and the victim dies.”
The fourth case, the person to whom was given opium, was again
presented before me. She had awakened from her sleep much pros-
trated. Her mind was distracted. She was impatient and irritable,
finding fault with her best friends, and imagining that they did not try
to relieve her sufferings. She became frantic, and raved like a maniac.
The gentleman before mentioned looked sadly upon the sufferer, and
said to those present,—
“This is the second result from taking opium.” Her physician was
called. He gave her an increased dose of opium which quieted her
ravings, yet made her very talkative and cheerful. She was at peace
with all around her, and expressed much affection for acquaintances,
as well as her relatives. She soon grew drowsy and fell into a stupefied
condition. The gentleman mentioned above, solemnly said,—
“Her conditions of health are no better now than when she was in
her frantic ravings. She is decidedly worse. This drug-poison, opium,
gives temporary relief from pain, but does not remove the cause of
pain. It only stupefies the brain, rendering it incapable of receiving
impressions from the nerves. While the brain is thus insensible, the
hearing, the taste, and sight are affected. When the influence of opium
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wears off, and the brain arouses from its state of paralysis, the nerves,
which had been cut off from communication with the brain, shriek
out louder than ever the pains in the system, because of the additional
outrage the system has sustained in receiving this poison. Every
additional drug given to the patient, whether it be opium, or some
other poison, will complicate the case, and make the patient’s recovery
more hopeless. The drugs given to stupefy, whatever they may be,
derange the nervous system. An evil, simple in the beginning, which
nature aroused herself to overcome, and which she would have done
had she been left to herself, has been made ten-fold worse by drug-
poisons being introduced into the system, which is a destructive disease