e morning, with scanty tough expectoration, and frequent
palpitations. He was repeatedly under treatment for bronchial affection,
which was usually relieved by expectorants, blisters, and _continued_
counter-irritants. Each attack of bronchitis was the result, as he
expressed it, of "breathing bad air in the pit," in which he was obliged
to relinquish labouring, as the lamp would not burn, from the state of
the atmosphere. He never wrought at the stone-mining nor blasting. In
examining the chest with the ear, at this stage of the affection, the
mucous rale was distinctly heard, and exceedingly loud throughout the
greater part of the chest. The heart's action was strong, but natural;
pulse 70, full and bounding. About four years ago, he removed from
Huntlaw to Blindwell, a coal-work towards the sea-coast, an extension of
the same coal formation. At this time, 1841, he had very troublesome
cough, particularly in bed, scanty frothy expectoration, annoying
dyspnoea, preventing him taking sufficient nourishment, headach,
obstinate bowels. He continued under all these ailments to labour with
much difficulty, till the summer of 1843.[18]

In reviewing the morbid appearances in the cases now detailed, it will
be observed, that in the majority of them, the left lung exhibited the
greater amount of diseased structure. This fact is particularly
interesting, as in _tubercular_ phthisis, a similar predominance of
disease is found on the left side.

In almost all the cases, there was found very extensive effusion into
the serous cavities, and particularly into those of the pleura and
pericardium. Both pleurae were much thickened, and all the marks of a
long standing pleuritic and pericardial inflammatory action were seen.
The substance of the heart, in all the cases, was soft and attenuated;
the right auricle and ventricle were dilated; and there was thickening
of several of the valves. The liver and spleen were usually large and
congested. In all the cases, as the disease advanced, the pulse came
down to a very unfrequent and thready beat. From the great extent of the
venous congestion, the disease often assumed the aspect of asphyxia; and
in some instances the colour of the patients resembled that of persons
labouring under cyanosis.

The lividity of countenance, and the other concomitant symptoms, which
presented themselves, gave decided indications of the morbid effects of
this extraneous body. It requires little explanation to