PRECIOUS METALS.
“The virtues of the noble metals are, moreover, of such a nature that
they inspire respect even in those who do not seek these qualities in
higher spheres, but ask after the common and every-day usefulness of a
thing.”——VON KOBELL.
Some consider those metals most precious which, like gold and
silver, have earned that reputation by acting in the capacity of
representatives of wealth, as the current coins of civilized nations.
To some men these have been esteemed more precious than health, or even
than life itself; others, calculating on the grounds of utility, have
considered iron and copper, so universally applicable to the wants of
civilized life, such mighty agents in the cause of civilization, as the
most precious of metals; and these may be right in their calculations,
for although we might manage to get on without the former, we can
hardly imagine for ourselves the condition occasioned by the loss of
the latter. There are yet a few to whom it would seem, however strange
the fact may appear, that two metals are the most precious which the
rest of the world have no idea of considering as of but a very low
rate of value, and without which they can readily conceive of the
world moving on without any very great sense of their loss. These two
are Arsenic and Mercury. The very names are almost sufficient to send
a shudder of horror through us as we write or repeat them; and to
elect them into the highest place in our affections is the last act we
should, in a state of sanity, deem ourselves likely to perform. The
one suggests images of Aqua Tophana and the Middle Ages, and our teeth
loosen in our gums with unpleasant reminiscences of black draught and
blue pill as associated with the other. For one we can think of no
better employment than the extirpation of rats, or the preservation
of mummies; and for the other no more exalted an occupation than to
coat the backs of our mirrors, or inform us of the conditions of
the atmosphere. That any one could indulge in them as luxuries, or,
by their habitual use, elevate them to a companionship with tobacco
and opium, with haschish and coca, would appear to be a gross libel
upon the “Seven Sisters of Sleep,” and a satire upon the cherished
companions of millions of the human race.
Medical men, foremost amongst whom is Dr. Christison, consider that
these minerals cannot be indulged in without exercising a deleterious
effect upon the system. The cumulative action of mineral poisons is a
great point of difference between them and those of vegetable origin,
for although the same eminent physician is of opinion that tobacco may
be indulged in without injury, he does not believe such a possibility
to exist with regard to mercury and arsenic.[32]
The use of corrosive sublimate, the bichloride of mercury, is certainly
restricted within very confined limits, and even within those limits,
the information we have is very meagre. At Constantinople, the
opium-eater, who finds his daily dose insufficient in time to produce
those results which at first accrued from its use, resorts to the
expedient of mixing therewith a small quantity of corrosive sublimate,
to increase the potency of the drug. By itself, it is never indulged
in as a passion in the same manner as vegetable narcotics, nor can the
same pleas be urged in favour of its use, or in extenuation of its
abuse. An opium-eater at Broussa is stated to have been accustomed
to swallow daily with his opium, forty grains of corrosive sublimate
without any apparently injurious effects. In South America its use is
affirmed to be very extensive.
Arsenious acid, or white arsenic, is a more popular irritant than
mercury. The arsenic-eaters of Styria are now historical individuals,
and the custom there and in the neighbouring districts appears to be
a common one among the labouring population. Itinerant pedlars vend
it for this purpose, and it becomes a necessary of life to those who
commence the practice. It is taken every morning as regularly as the
Turk consumes his opium.
One of the benefits said to accrue from its use is, that it gives
a plumpness to the figure, softness to the skin, freshness to the
complexion, and brilliancy to the eye. For this purpose, young men and
maidens resort to it, to increase their charms, and render themselves
acceptable and fascinating to each other. A friend, recently returned
from Canada and the United States, informs us, positively, that it is
largely consumed by the young ladies, in those regions of the civilized
world, for the same purposes above described, to which it is resorted
by the Austrian damsels. He declares that the custom is so common that
no surprise is excited on discovering any one addicted to its use, and
that amongst the fairer sex it is the rule rather than the exception.
The principal authority for its use in the European districts, is
the celebrated traveller Von Tschuddi, who has published an account
of several cases which have come to his knowledge. In one instance,
a pale, thin damsel, anxious to attach herself to her lover, by
presenting a more prepossessing exterior, took the “precious metal,”
in the form of its oxide, several times a week, and soon became stout,
rosy, and captivating; but in her over-anxiety to heighten her charms,
and rival the fabled beauties of old, and having experienced the
benefit of small doses of the poison, ventured upon a larger quantity,
and died from its effects, the victim of her vanity. The habit is
generally commenced with small doses, starting with about half a grain
or less, each day, and gradually increasing it to two or three grains.
The case of a hale old peasant is mentioned, whose morning whet of
arsenic reached the incredible quantity of four grains.
Another singular benefit is supposed to arise from the use of this
substance, similar to that claimed by the Peruvians for their coca,
namely, that of rendering the breathing easier in toiling uphill, so
that steep heights may be climbed without difficulty or exhaustion.
It is curious that the mountaineers of the Andes and the Alps, at
distances so remote, should deem themselves possessed of the means of
assisting nature in surmounting difficulties, by preventing exhaustion
in climbing the mountain side: in one instance, by chewing a quid of
leaves which grow plentifully on the mountain slopes, and in the other,
by swallowing a small fragment of a mineral obtained from the mines at
the mountain side.
Whilst the practice of arsenic eating is continued, no evil effects
would seem to be experienced, everything connected with the body of
the eater seems to be in a flourishing condition, the appearance is
healthy, plump, and fresh, no symptoms of poisoning are manifested
until the regular dose is discontinued, when a great feeling of
discomfort arises, the digestion becomes deranged, burning sensations
and spasms are present in the throat, pains in the bowels commence,
and the breathing becomes oppressed. From these unpleasant sensations
there is no relief but by an immediate return to the habit of arsenic
eating, and hence, when once commenced, the use of this article becomes
a necessity of life, and the poisonous mineral a “precious metal.”
Dr. Macgowan of Ningpo, says, “We are told that Mongolian hunters,
beyond the wall, eat arsenic to enable them to endure cold when
patiently lying on the snow to entrap martins. In this part of China
arsenic is taken by divers, who in cold weather plunge into still water
in pursuit of fish, which are then found hybernating among stones at
the piers of bridges. We perceive with regret, that the modern Chinese
have added arsenic to their habitual stimulants. The red sulphuret in
powder is mixed with tobacco, and their joint fumes are smoked in the
ordinary manner. We have met with no habitual smokers of this compound
of mineral and vegetable poisons; but persons who have made trial state
that dizziness and sickness attend first attempts. After a few trials,
arseniated tobacco may be taken without any apparent inconvenience.
From reports given of it, we infer that its effects on the Chinese are
analogous to what is observed among the arsenic-eating peasants of
Austria.
“At Peking, where arseniated tobacco is most in use, it costs no more
than the unmixed article; it may be known by the red colour imparted
to the vegetable by the powdered proto-sulphuret. Its introduction
is attributed to Cantonese from Chauchau. If this be correct, it is
probable that these southerners, unable at the north to procure the
masticatory to which they are addicted, sought to appease a craving
for the pungent but harmless lime and betel nut, by substituting the
deleterious mineral gas. Many of the miserable victims of opium, to
whom that narcotic is a necessity, and not a pleasure, have eagerly
employed the new stimulant to prop and exhilarate their exhausted
bodies, and, perhaps, have thereby meliorated and prolonged their
existence. We would fain hope that the use of arsenical stimulants
will not become general; yet that pernicious custom is extending, and
we know our race too well not to entertain fears on that subject. It
is even stated that, for a time at least, the reigning Emperor in his
boyhood preferred tobacco thus mineralized. In domestic economy, the
red sulphuret is employed for making away with rats and husbands.”[33]
One of the best things that Hahnemann ever did was to write a treatise
on arsenic. This he did well, and therefore deserves to be remembered;
but for this he is often forgotten, and is only extolled for a less
important labour—the introduction of homœopathy. Chemists deserve well
of mankind for the assiduity with which they have studied this subtle
poison, so that now it may be detected in the minutest quantities. One
point, however, seems to be hardly clear, and on this, perhaps, the
Styrian peasant could enlighten us, namely, the taste of arsenic, some
declaring that it has no distinguishable taste, others, that it is
sweetish, and others saline. The only means of arriving at the truth is
rather too hazardous a one to be ventured upon.
The effects of arsenic upon the human frame, were illustrated in a
curious case which occurred a few years since in the northern part of
France. A domestic at a country seat wished to cause the death of his
mistress, and mixed arsenic in small quantities with her food, hoping
that the slow operation of the poison would prevent any suspicion of
murder. To his great astonishment, she gained rapidly in health, flesh,
and spirits. At length he gave her a larger quantity, which occasioned
serious illness, and led to the discovery and punishment of the crime.
We have as yet applied arsenic only to some of the purposes for which
it is applicable. The roses of England possess enough of bloom without
resorting to the bloom of the smelting furnace. Although we use it
to preserve with all the appearances of life the deceased zoological
curiosities of our museums, we do not seek its aid to enhance the
charms of those living specimens of beauty which are the glory and the
pride of our hearths and homes. Fortunately, we have no Andes to climb,
and no Alps to scale, and the summits we have to gain are arrived at by
dint of perseverance, and no small amount of puffing, in which latter
circumstance it seems to be our nature to glory as much as the Peruvian
or the Austrian in its absence. Now and then we become suspicious of
its presence in our green paper hangings, and in that menial office are
almost content to dispense with its services. Or anon, we are treated
to a scramble of Bradford drops, which, finding the temperature of the
climate uncongenial, melt away to a stray ghost or two that haunt the
stoppered bottles of our chemical museums. Grumble as we may at _our_
precious metals, we—
“Rather bear those ills we have,
Than fly to others that we know not of.”
Animals have not escaped arsenic-eating, for the Austrians, having
discovered its property of plumping up, and putting into good
condition the human animal, have resorted to it, as an improver of
their ill-conditioned horses. Gentlemen’s grooms bestow it upon the
animals in their charge, and pronounce its effects as certain and
as marvellous, as upon thin and sickly-looking damsels. A pinch of
the white powder is sprinkled like pepper over the “feed of corn,”
or tied up in a piece of rag and fastened to the “bit,” before that
instrument is introduced into the animal’s mouth. The same two
properties are said to be exhibited in the case of the horses, as are
affirmed to take place in man. The body is plumped out, and rounded
into fair proportions, the skin rendered sleek and glossy, and the
breath is improved, so that long journeys, steep and rugged ascents,
and heavy loads, are readily overcome by its potency. If this secret
were communicated to some of our London omnibus and cabmen, it would
probably be of advantage to the appearance of some of the poor animals
doomed for a certain time to _walk_ this earth, and increase their
facility for moving through a space of three or four miles in less time
than a pedestrian could accomplish the feat.
The teamsters in mountainous countries frequently add a dose of arsenic
to the fodder, which they give their horses, before a laborious ascent.
The practice of giving arsenic to horses may continue for years without
accident, but as soon as the animal passes into the hands of a master
who does not use arsenic, he becomes thin, loses his spirits, and,
in spite of the most abundant nourishment, never recovers his former
appearance.
The use of arsenic for horned cattle is less frequent; it is only given
to oxen and calves intended for fattening. In Austria, hogs and other
animals are also fattened by a careful use of arsenic.
Precious metals, like precious stones, are subject to misfortunes. As
of the latter, a learned professor saith, “Patents of nobility are
distributed here in the most arbitrary manner, and outward aspect and
character, weigh heaviest in the scales by which they are determined.
To such an extent is this the case, that the stones which have
literally and truly fallen from the skies, are not reckoned among
the precious stones, although they have been in all times objects of
curiosity to the most cultivated minds, and certainly are of _very
high descent_, since they came, at least, from the moon, and are even
imagined to be young worlds, little princes, which would in time have
come to reign as planets. And whence this injustice? Because these
little strangers, which, perhaps, are pleased to travel _incognito_,
have an inconspicuous exterior, are enveloped in a dark weather-proof
cloak, because from under this cloak, only a greyish suit, without gold
lace, with merely a little iron scattered about it, comes to light;
because this aspect does not show from afar off that they have fallen
from the skies, and because they do not say to everybody, ‘My mother
lives in the mountains of the moon.’”
And although Mercury, not only in name, but also in its volatile and
skyward tendencies, claims kindred with the planetary system, which
tendencies are likewise shown in the behaviour of the other metallic
substance, of which this chapter discourses. Yet their _high_ claims
are disregarded, and, like the aerolites, they are condemned by the
majority of men to a plebeian rank and menial offices.