better
Christian.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

POISONING WITH LEAD.

Nearly at the beginning of my practice in medicine, I was called to see
a fine and hitherto healthy youth, twelve years old, but who had for
several weeks before application was made to me, complained of a steady
and sometimes severe pain in his bowels, attended with more or fewer
febrile symptoms and a loss of appetite.

In endeavoring to trace out carefully the causes of his disease, the
first thing that attracted my attention was his employment. His father
was a blacksmith, and being in moderate circumstances and destitute of
any other help besides this son, had for a considerable time required
him to perform the work of an adult, or nearly such. It had not been
suspected at the time, that the work injured him, though he had
sometimes complained of great fatigue, and of a slight weakness and
uneasiness in the place where the pain had now become fixed. As the
result of my investigations, I came to the conclusion that he had been
overworked, and certain ligaments of the bowels had been weakened.

My treatment in the case was at first mild and palliative, in the hope
that after a few days of rest the trouble would disappear. Instead of
this, however, it grew worse. At my special request, various counselling
physicians were called in; but I do not know that they were of any
service to me. No new light was thrown on the case, though we could all
converse very learnedly on the subject.

Like many other young practitioners, I was at that time apt to indulge
in gloomy fears about poisons. I seldom had a case of acute disease,
without suspecting their influence. I suspected poison now, and
accordingly made search into every possible nook and corner whence such
an influence could possibly have emanated. For a long time nothing could
be found.

One day, on examining a pot of pickled cucumbers which had hitherto
escaped observation, I found that a part of its glazing had been
destroyed by the acid. I no sooner saw this than I was ready to say,
_eureka_ (I have found it), and to inform the family and my patient. It
appeared that the pickles had been there for some time, and that the boy
had eaten of them very freely. The parents and friends, though they had
much confidence in the wisdom and skill of their physician, were very
slow to believe in the injurious tendency of the pickles. They admitted
the danger of such cases generally; but how could the boy be