cotic power, occafions confufion of ideas and lofs of memory, attended with naufea, giddinefs, headach, and conftipation of the bowels; in a word, it feems to fufpend or diminish all the natural fecretions and excretions of the body, that of perfpiration only excepted. Those who take opium to excefs become enervated, and foon look old; when deprived of it, they are faint, and experience the languor and dejection of fpirits common to fuch as drink fpirituous liquors in excefs; to the bad effects of which it is fimilar, fince, like thofe, they are not eafily removed without a repetition of the dose, By the indifcriminate ufe of that preparation of opium called Godfrey's Cordial, many children are yearly cut off; for it is frequently given, dose after dofe, without moderation, by ignorant women and mercenary nurses, to filence the cries of infants, and lull them to fleep, in order to prevent nurfing, by which they are at laft rendered ftupid, inactive, and rickety. Nor do grown up people receive lefs injury often from the fame enticing medicine. They foon become fo bewedded to their night-draught, that they muft have of the apothecary one every night, or a box of pills, and thefe become at length abfolutely neceffary articles. Unfortunate infatuation! What was fent as a folace in the moment of affliction muft now be had daily recourfe to. SECT. SECT. XXIII. OF IRREPARABLE EXHAUSTION. THE fibre is faid to be in a state of irreparable exhauftion, when it does not recover its due degree of IRRITABILITY, and fails upon the application of the proper ftimuli. All then is languor and debility. The actions within the body are infufficient, or nearly fo, for the maintenance of life. Mille modis lethi fors una fatiget. The fame lot of death haraffes in a thousand ways, yet terminates, however, in the fame point, the extinction, fooner or later, of the irritable prinriple within the body. SECT. SECT. XXIV. THE ABUSE OF TONIC MEDICINES. Of the evil effects from the abufe of TONIC MEDICINES We may relate the history of the Portland Powder, called fo from its having cured, of an hereditary and inveterate gout, one of the dukes of that name. It confifts of equal parts of the following herbs, viz. Take the roots of round BIRTHWORT, and GENTIAN, The tops & leaves of fmall GERMANDER, leffer CENTAURY, and ground PINE. Equal parts. Powder them. A dram of this powder was ordered to be taken, in fome convenient liquid, in a morning, fafting, the patient tafting nothing for an hour and an half after it; it must be used in this dofe for three months without the leaft interruption. Forty-five grains are to be taken daily in the fame manner for the fucceeding three months: half a dram every day for the next fix months: and half a dram every other day during the fecund year. From very ancient times down to the prefent, aromatic bitters have been recommended and employed for the gout; and as this remedy, on its |