Curious accounts have been given of the use of arsenic as an habitual stimulant by the peasants of Styria, in the Austrian dominions, who are said to be invigorated by it, improving in appetite, colour, and general comfort, so as to acquire a fondness for the luxury, and to be unable to relinquish it without suffering. These statements, however, were so contrary to what had previously been known of its effects, that they could scarcely be deemed worthy of credence, without further authentication. Some countenance was lent to them by an account given by MM. Trousseau and Pidoux, that one of them, probably M. Trousseau, after he had taken eight centigrammes (somewhat more than a grain) of arsenious acid, had felt a general excitement, similar to that produced by strong coffee, with an extraordinary sense of vigour in the lower extremities, enabling him to take a long walk without fatigue. (Traite de Thérap., 4th ed., i. 258.) More recently some confirmation of these accounts have been given from various authoritative sources; and, though we are not called on to believe all the extravagances that were reported, we are bound to admit that such a habit does actually exist with a certain number in these regions, that much larger quantities are taken with present impunity than would formerly have been deemed compatible with life, and that at least the impression prevails of its great efficiency in increasing muscular vigour, improving respiration, and giving an appearance of youth to the complexion.*

* Apparently one of the most reliable accounts of arsenic-eating in Styria has been given by Mr. Charles Heisch, in the Pharmaceutical Journal and Transactions for May, 1860 (2d sér., i. 556). Mr. Heisch, having been in correspondence with medical men and other residents of the district where the practice was said to prevail, received from them very valuable communications, of which that from Dr. Lorenz, imperial Professor of Natural History, formerly of Saltzburg, gives very interesting and apparently reliable information, of which the following is an abstract.

The practice certainly prevails to some extent: but it is extremely difficult to get precise information; as the purchase of arsenic without a physician's prescription is illegal, and few are willing to acknowledge the use of it, for fear of the penalty. The usual practice, he says, is to begin with a piece of arsenious acid of the size of a pin's head, gradually increased to that of a pea, which is taken once daily, upon an empty stomach, in some warm liquid, such as coffee. The first dose is always provement, and not unfrequently cures of the cutaneous affections for which it was administered. On a visit to Swansea in South Wales, some years since, I was assured by respectable physicians of the place, that at the copper smelting works in the neighbourhood, which load the whole atmosphere around them with the vapour of arsenic, so that vegetation perishes in the near vicinity, and an alliaceous odour can sometimes be perceived at a considerable distance, the workmen themselves did not appear to suffer. They were somewhat paler, it is true, than the peasants of the country, but were not more liable to disease, nor shorter lived than their neighbours. Dr. Paris, in his Pharmacologia, states that, in a marshy locality in Cornwall, formerly subject to intermittent fever, it has ceased to prevail since copper smelting works have been established in the neighbourhood.

I have little doubt that the dangers of the medicine, and its essentially pernicious character, have been exaggerated, in the general opinion, much beyond what the exact truth will warrant. I have myself administered Fowler's solution almost or quite continuously, in alterative doses, for two, three, and even six months, without witnessing any disagreeable effects from it at the time or subsequently, but on the contrary great improductive of unpleasant symptoms, such as burning pain in the stomach, and sickness, but not severe; and, at each increase of the dose afterwards, the same up-pleasant effects are said to be experienced. It is asserted that the complexion and general appearance are much improved, and the age seems to be less than it really is; but Prof. Lorenz has never heard of a case in which the object of its use was to improve personal beauty. When the arsenic-eater has once acquired the habit, he can only get rid of it safely by a gradual diminution of the daily dose; for a sudden cessation causes sickness and burning pains in the stomach, with other symptoms of poisoning, soon followed by death. As a general rule, arsenic-eaters are long-lived, and are peculiarly exempt from prevailing diseases; but, unless they gradually abandon the practice, they invariably die suddenly at last. In some of the arsenic works, the men are said to adopt the practice of arsenic-eating, as the only method of protecting them from the poisonous agency of the fumes. A gentleman, engaged in the superintendence of works of this kind, who had been induced to adopt the practice in self-defence, gives the following account of the symptoms which occurred upon an attempt suddenly to break the habit. On the third day of the second week after having omitted the daily dose, he was attacked with faint-ness, depression of spirits, mental weakness, and a total loss of his little remaining appetite, with an entire loss of sleep. On the fourth day, violent cardiac palpitations came on, attended with profuse perspiration. Inflammation of the lungs followed, and he was laid up for nine weeks. As a restorative he resumed the arsenic-eating, and recovered his previous state of health, with the firm conviction that he must have died if he had persevered in his abstinence.

Notwithstanding all this testimony, and much more that might be adduced, I am unable to divest myself of the suspicion that there is yet something to be learned in relation to this supposed habit, that will tend to diminish the marvellous that appears to envelope it. A case has been reported by Dr. Parker, of Halifax, Nova Scotia, which throws much doubt upon the supposed harmlessness of the habit of arsenic-eating as practised in Styria. A young man came under his care with symptoms closely analogous to those ascribed to poisonous doses of this metal. He confessed to his physician that, some years previously, attracted by the accounts of the effect upon the complexion and general health produced in the arsenic-eaters of Styria, he had been induced to try the plan himself - beginning with a very small portion of the arsenious acid, and gradually increasing it. The symptoms with which he was at length attacked, and for which he had called for medical aid, were intense pain in the epigastrium, not much increased by pressure; swollen and tympanitic abdomen; incessant vomiting; intense thirst; a pulse of 110; weakness; and coolness of the surface. The tongue was moist and covered with a white fur, and the respiration was natural; but he had an anxious expression of countenance, and a dark-greenish complexion; and after a short time he died. Throughout the whole continuance of the habit, there seems to have been no improvement of the complexion, no appreciable effect on the respiration, and no increased muscular strength. (Ed. Med. Journ., Aug. 1864, p. 116.)-Note to the third edition.