the wall, and if prevented would cry loudly. When deprived of the
mortar it would vomit its food until this substance was given to it
again. At the time of report part of the routine duties of the sisters
of this boy was to supply him with mortar containing a little sand.
Lime-water was substituted, but he insisted so vigorously on the solid
form of food that it had to be replaced in his diet. He suffered from
small-pox; on waking up in the night with a fever, he always cried for
a piece of mortar. The quantity consumed in twenty-four hours was about
1/2 teacupful. The child had never been weaned.

Arsenic Eaters.--It has been frequently stated that the peasants of
Styria are in the habit of taking from two to five grains of arsenious
acid daily for the purpose of improving the health, avoiding infection,
and raising the whole tone of the body. It is a well-substantiated fact
that the quantities taken habitually are quite sufficient to produce
immediate death ordinarily. But the same might be easily said of those
addicted to opium and chloral, a subject that will be considered later.
Perverted appetites during pregnancy have been discussed on pages 80
and 81.

Glass-eaters, penknife-swallowers, and sword-swallowers, being
exhibitionists and jugglers, and not individuals with perverted
appetites, will be considered in Chapter XII.

Fasting.--The length of time which a person can live with complete
abstinence from food is quite variable. Hippocrates admits the
possibility of fasting more than six days without a fatal issue; but
Pliny and others allow a much longer time, and both the ancient and
modern literature of medicine are replete with examples of abstinence
to almost incredible lengths of time. Formerly, and particularly in
the Middle Ages when religious frenzy was at its highest pitch,
prolonged abstinence was prompted by a desire to do penance and to gain
the approbation of Heaven.

In many religions fasting has become a part of worship or religions
ceremony, and from the earliest times certain sects have carried this
custom to extremes. It is well known that some of the priests and
anchorites of the East now subsist on the minimum amount of food, and
from the earliest times before the advent of Christianity we find
instances of prolonged fasting associated with religious worship. The
Assyrians, the Hebrews, the Egyptians, and other Eastern nations, and
also the Greeks and Romans, as well as feasting days