“to breathe the gas for such a time and in such quantities as to produce excitement equal in duration and superior in intensity to that occasioned by high intoxication from opium or alcohol.”
For this purpose he was enclosed in an air-tight or box-chamber, into which from time to time, by the help of Dr. Kinglake, successive quantities of twenty quarts of nitrous oxide were introduced. As he breathed the gas, he found that his temperature and pulse gradually increased. He experienced a generally diffused warmth without the slightest moisture of the skin, a sense of exhilaration similar to that produced by a small dose of wine, and disposition to muscular motion and to merriment. Luminous points seemed frequently to pass before his eyes, his hearing became more acute, and he felt a pleasant lightness and power of exertion in the muscles; and, on account of the great desire of action, rest was painful. After having been in the box for an hour and a quarter he began to respire twenty quarts of unmingled nitrous oxide. What followed is best described in his own words:—
“A thrilling, extending from the chest to the extremities, was almost immediately produced. I felt a sense of tangible extension highly pleasurable in every limb; my visible impressions were dazzling, and apparently magnified, I heard distinctly every sound in the room, and was perfectly aware of my situation. By degrees, as the pleasurable sensations increased, I lost all connection with external things; trains of vivid visible images rapidly passed through my mind, and were connected with words in such a manner, as to produce perceptions perfectly novel. I existed in a world of newly connected and newly modified ideas: I theorised, I imagined that I made discoveries. When I was awakened from this semi delirious trance by Dr. Kinglake, who took the bag from my mouth, indignation and pride were the first feelings produced by the sight of the persons about me. My emotions were enthusiastic and sublime, and for a minute I walked round the room perfectly regardless of what was said to me. As I recovered my former state of mind I felt an inclination to communicate the discoveries I had made during the experiment. I endeavoured to recall the ideas: they were feeble and indistinct; one collection of terms however presented itself; and with a most intense belief and prophetic manner, I exclaimed to Dr. Kinglake, ‘Nothing exists but thoughts! The universe is composed of impressions, ideas, pleasures and pains!’”
As might be anticipated, the friend of Coleridge and Southey, himself a youth of sensibility and poetic feeling, was curious to learn whether this wonderful gas would increase his stock of the divine afflatus. He walked amidst the scenery of the Avon, “rendered exquisitely beautiful by bright moonshine,” and, with a mind filled with pleasurable feelings, he breathed the gas, and we have as a consequence the following effusion:—
“Not in the ideal dreams of wild desire
Have I beheld a rapture-wakening form:
My bosom burns with no unhallow’d fire,
Yet is my cheek with rosy blushes warm;
Yet are my eyes with sparkling lustre fill’d;
Yet is my mouth replete with murmuring sound;
Yet are my limbs with inward transports fill’d,
And clad with new-born mightiness around.”
Whether, as the result of this effort, Davy ever again essayed to tempt the muse when under the influence of nitrous oxide is doubtful. Nowadays the gas is too frequently associated with unhappy memories of the dentist’s chair to call up pleasurable associations in a poet’s mind.
Davy concludes his memoir with some cautious speculations as to the mode of action of nitrous oxide. That it acts on the blood he was well aware, but it has been left for subsequent research to determine in what manner. He points out that “as nitrous oxide in its extensive operation appears capable of destroying physical pain, it may probably be used with advantage during surgical operations in which no great effusion of blood takes place.” As is well known, nitrous oxide is now one of the commonest anæsthetic agents.
As regards the general question how far the gases are likely to subserve the interests of medicine, he is very guarded.
“Pneumatic chemistry,” he says, “in its application to medicine is an art in infancy, weak, almost useless, but apparently possessed of capabilities of improvement. To be rendered strong and mature, she must be nourished by facts, strengthened by exercise, and cautiously directed in the application of her powers by rational scepticism.”
Davy’s success with nitrous oxide led him to attempt to respire other gases—such as hydrogen, nitric oxide, carbonic acid—with in one or two cases almost fatal consequences. On one occasion he tried to breathe water-gas, made by passing steam over charcoal, and was with difficulty brought to life again. These deleterious experiments, carried on with all the ardour and impetuosity of his nature, and at the expense of much nervous energy, reacted prejudicially on his health, and he was obliged to seek relaxation and quiet in the pure atmosphere of his native place.