Page:The growth of medicine from the earliest times to about 1800.djvu/484

 soon after this event that he wrote the Greek satire which bears the title "Misopogon," and from which Hoffmann quotes the following account of Julian's narrow escape from death through the poisonous effects of carbonous oxide:—

The little city which the Celts call Lutetia is built upon a small island in the midst of a river, and access to it from both sides is gained by means of wooden bridges. Ordinarily the winter climate in this region is mild, owing—as the people of the place claim—to the proximity of the Ocean. Good wine is produced there, and even fig-trees flourish provided care be taken to wrap them well in wheat straw or some similar protective material during the winter season. But my visit happened to have been made during an exceptionally severe winter, and as a result things which looked like slabs of Phrygian marble, closely packed together, were constantly floating down the river with the current, and, soon becoming jammed, they formed a sort of natural bridge. Although most of the houses—the one I occupied among the number—were provided with fireplaces and chimney-flues, and might therefore readily be heated, I was not willing that a fire should be kindled in my bedroom. I was very little sensitive to cold, and, in addition, I was desirous of becoming more and more hardened to its influence As the severity of the weather, however, showed no signs of letting up, I permitted the attendants to bring into the room a few glowing coals, just enough to render the air of the chamber less chilly. But, notwithstanding the very small degree of heat which these few burning coals supplied, it proved to be sufficient to draw out from the damp walls exhalations that caused my head to feel as if it were tightly held in a vice and also produced a sensation as if I were choking. I was immediately removed from the room, and the physicians who were promptly summoned administered an emetic which enabled me to get rid of the food which I had eaten a short time before. Soon afterward I had a refreshing sleep and was able on the following day to resume my work as usual. [Translated from the German version printed in Neuburger's monograph.]

As will be seen from the reports which I have just quoted, there existed among the Germans, early in the eighteenth century, no fixed belief as to the real cause of death in many of these unexplained fatal cases; and it was therefore no