.
XXXIV. 1. 4.

Mrs. C---- was seized every day about the same hour with violent pain on
the right side of her bowels about the situation of the lower edge of the
liver, without fever, which increased for an hour or two, till it became
totally intolerable. After violent screaming she fell into convulsions,
which terminated sometimes in fainting, with or without stertor, as in
common epilepsy; at other times a tempory insanity supervened; which
continued about half an hour, and the fit ceased. These paroxysms had
returned daily for two or three weeks, and were at length removed by large
doses of opium, like the fits of reverie or somnambulation. About half an
hour before the expected return of the fit three or four grains of opium
were exhibited, and then tincture of opium was given in warm brandy and
water about 20 or 30 drops every half hour, till the eyes became somewhat
inflamed, and the nose began to itch, and by the sharp movements of the
patient, or quick speech, an evident intoxication appeared; and then it
generally happened that the pain ceased. But the effects of this large dose
of opium was succeeded by perpetual sickness and efforts to vomit, with
great general debility all the succeeding day.

The rationale of this temporary cure from the exhibition of opium and
vinous spirit depends on the great expenditure of sensorial power in the
increased actions of all the irritative motions, by the stimulus of such
large quantities of opium and vinous spirit; together with the production
of much sensation, and many movements of the organs of sense or ideas in
consequence of that sensation; and lastly, even the motions of the arterial
system become accelerated by this degree of intoxication, all which soon
exhausted so much sensorial power as to relieve the pain; which would
otherwise have caused convulsions or insanity, which are other means of
expending sensorial power. The general debility on the succeeding day, and
the particular debility of the stomach, attended in consequence with
sickness and frequent efforts to vomit, were occasioned by the system
having previously been so strongly stimulated, and those parts in
particular on which the opium and wine more immediately acted. This
sickness continued so many hours as to break the catenation of motions,
which had daily reproduced the paroxysm; and thus it generally happened,
that the whole disease ceased for some weeks or months from one great
intoxication, a cir