The most innocent, and, at the same time, most disgusting way of using tobacco, is plugging, which consists in inserting a short roll of the plant in the nostril and allowing it to remain there so long as the person feels disposed. Fortunately this habit is as rare as it is abominable; and it is to be hoped that it will never become common in Great Britain.
I have observed, that persons who are much addicted to liquor have an inordinate liking to tobacco in all its different forms: and it is remarkable that in the early stages of ebriety almost every man is desirous of having a pinch of snuff. This last fact it is not easy to explain, but the former may be accounted for by that incessant craving after excitement which clings to the system of the confirmed drunkard.
From several of the foregoing circumstances, we are justified in considering tobacco closely allied to intoxicating liquors, and its confirmed votaries as a species of drunkards. At least, it is certain that, when used to excess, it gives birth to many of the corporeal and mental manifestations of ebriety.
VI. Modified by Nitrous Oxide.—The drunkenness, if it merit that name, from inhaling nitrous oxide, is likewise of a character widely differing from intoxication in general. This gas was discovered by Dr. Priestley, but its peculiar effects upon the human body were first perceived in 1799, by Sir Humphry Davy, who, in the following year, published a very elaborate account of its nature and properties, interspersed with details by some of the most eminent literary and scientific characters, of the sensations they experienced on receiving it into their lungs.
According to these statements, on breathing the gas the pulse is accelerated, and a feeling of heat and expansion pervades the chest. The most vivid and highly pleasurable ideas pass, at the same time, through the mind; and the imagination is exalted to a pitch of entrancing ecstasy. The hearing is rendered more acute, the face is flushed, and the body seems so light that the person conceives himself capable of rising up and mounting into the air. Some assume theatrical attitudes; others laugh immoderately, and stamp upon the ground. There is an universal increase of muscular power, attended with the most exquisite delight. In a few cases there are melancholy, giddiness, and indistinct vision; but generally the feelings are those of perfect pleasure. After these strange effects have ceased, no debility ensues, like that which commonly follows high excitement. On the contrary, the mind is strong and collected, and the body unusually vigorous for some hours after the operation.
At the time of the discovery of the effects of nitrous oxide, strong hopes were excited that it might prove useful in various diseases. These, unfortunately, have not been realized. Even the alleged properties of the gas have now fallen into some discredit. That it has produced remarkable effects cannot be denied, but there is much reason for thinking, that in many cases, these were in a great measure brought about by the influence of imagination. Philosophers seem to be divided on this point, and their conflicting testimonies it is not easy to reconcile. Having tried the experiment of inhaling the gas myself, and having seen it tried upon others, I have no doubt that there is much truth in the reports originally published of its properties, although in many cases, imagination has made these appear greater than they really are. The intoxication which it produces is entirely one sui generis, and differs so much from that produced by other agents, that it can hardly be looked upon as the same thing.
The effects of nitrous oxide upon myself, though considerable, were not so striking as I have seen upon others. The principal feelings produced, were giddiness and violent beating in the head, such as occur in the acmé of drunkenness. There was also a strong propensity to laugh: it occurs to me, however, that in my own case, and probably in some others, the risible tendency might be controlled by a strong effort of volition, in the same way as in most cases of drunkenness, were the effort imperatively requisite. Altogether I experienced nearly the sensations of highly excited ebriety. There was the same seeming lightness and expansion of the head, the same mirthfulness of spirit, and the same inordinate propensity to do foolish things, knowing them to be foolish, as occur in drunkenness in general. I was perfectly aware what I was about, and could, I am persuaded, with some effort, have subjected the whimsies of fancy to the soberer dictates of judgment. In a word, the gas produced precisely a temporary paroxysm of drunkenness, and such a determination of blood upwards as rendered the complexion livid, and left behind some degree of headach. Such are the effects upon myself, but with most people, there is a total unconsciousness of the part they are acting. They perform the most extravagant pranks, and on recovering their self-possession are totally ignorant of the circumstance. Sometimes the gas has an opposite effect, and the person instantly drops down insensible, as if struck by lightning: he recovers, however, immediately. Those who wish to know more of this curious subject, should read Sir H. Davy’s work; but, above all, they should try the gas upon themselves. In the meantime I shall lay before the reader the details, in their own words, of the sensations experienced by Messrs. Edgeworth and Coleridge, and by Dr. Kinglake.
Mr. Edgeworth’s Case.—“My first sensation was an universal and considerable tremor. I then perceived some giddiness in my head, and a violent dizziness in my sight; these sensations by degrees subsided, and I felt a great propensity to bite through the wooden mouth-piece, or the tube of the bag through which I inspired the air. After I had breathed all the air that was in the bag, I eagerly wished for more. I then felt a strong propensity to laugh, and did burst into a violent fit of laughter, and capered about the room without having the power of restraining myself. By degrees, these feelings subsided, except the tremor, which lasted for an hour after I had breathed the air, and I felt a weakness in my knees. The principal feeling through the whole of the time, or what I should call the characteristical part of the effect, was a total difficulty of restraining my feelings, both corporeal and mental, or, in other words, not having any command of myself.”
Mr. Coleridge’s Case.—“The first time I inspired the nitrous oxide, I felt an highly pleasurable sensation of warmth over my whole frame, resembling that which I once remember to have experienced after returning from a walk in the snow into a warm room. The only motion which I felt inclined to make, was that of laughing at those who were looking at me. My eyes felt distended, and, towards the last, my heart beat as if it were leaping up and down. On removing the mouth-piece, the whole sensation went off almost instantly.
“The second time, I felt the same pleasurable sensation of warmth, but not, I think, in quite so great a degree. I wished to know what effect it would have on my impressions: I fixed my eye on some trees in the distance, but I did not find any other effect, except that they became dimmer and dimmer, and looked at last as if I had seen them through tears. My heart beat more violently than the first time. This was after a hearty dinner.