overfeeding, in all animals, as well as in man, combined with indolence and want of exertion, is enlargement of the great glandular organs of the abdomen, particularly the liver; and this consequence is the more marked, and the sooner induced, the warmer the temperature in which the animal exists, and the more complete the inaction to which he is doomed.

But a regular and sufficient exercise, so as to promote a full and copious perspiration and regular circulation in the cutaneous surface, is not only serviceable in overcoming plethora, and unloading the vascular system of a part of those fluids which are continually being conveyed into it through the medium of the absorbing vessels, and in removing the congestions and determinations of the circulating mass upon the large abdominal viscera; but it most unequivocally and powerfully promotes the healthy functions of those organs which are engaged in the elaboration of the most important secretions of the body, and in the elimination of those materials from the blood which have served their purposes in the economy, and whose removal from it is requisite to its healthy condition. The secretion of bile, the removal of congestions of this fluid in the biliary ducts, as well as in the gall-bladder, the secretion and discharge of urine, and the cutaneous secretions, are all promoted by a regular and sufficient exercise.

But in order that exercise may be beneficial, it must be regular, and continued without intermissions of indolence-it must be daily, and in warm climates it should be taken in the cool of the morning and evening; thus leaving the intermediate hot part of the day to reading, study, conversation, or whatever occupations may not over-fatigue or over-excite the system. By this, however, it is not meant to inculcate that no exercise should be taken in the middle of the day, or that lighter occupations and amusements may not then be entered upon; but that these should be pursued much more rarely, and with greater precautions as to temperature and exposure to the sun, than in the early and latter parts of the day. Other precautions as to exercise are also necessary, even when resorted to at periods apparently the best suited to the purpose. It should not be too violent in its nature or tendency, so as to fatigue and exhaust the system; but it ought to be sufficient for the purposes already indicated, and should, in a warm climate, be followed by a genial and copious perspiration, which ought not to be checked by exposure to cold or currents of air, or by a sudden discontinuance of the exercise which occasioned it. During the period of taking exercise, those causes and places which have been shown to

be productive of terrestrial exhalations should be avoided; but if the exercise be properly suited to the season and time of the day in which it is taken, they need not in any measure be dreaded.

With respect to the kind of exercise that is to be preferred, this must depend upon circumstances. Riding in carriages can scarcely be considered as sufficient for the wants of the system, unless in the cases of weak, sickly, or convalescent persons. Horseback and walking exercise are preferable, and both should be resorted to. Cricket and fives are useful and amusing means of exercise in the cooler periods of the day, and billiards answer the purpose well when the temperature precludes any more active means. Above all, indolence should be avoided, whether of mind or body; it enervates the whole frame, becomes more inveterate from indulgence, and exposes the system to the invasion of all the causes of intertropical diseases. An inactive mode of life also leads the mind to indulgences which are hurtful to its own energies, as well as baneful to the physical condition of the body. When the mind is unemployed or unexcited by those avocations and undertakings, which, while they interest the mind itself, impart energy to the frame, the follies and dissipations of life are more freely indulged in, the causes of disease more readily impress the system, both from without and from within, and hence the indolent and inactive become soonest the prey of disease, and are its most ready and numerous victims. That person will enjoy his health the best of any, in warm climates, who occupies his mind with interesting and important pursuits,-who takes a regular, a judicious, and a sufficient exercise,-who lives in moderation and without undue indulgences, and adopts in every respect what I have recommended in a former section of this work.*

Of all the various animal wants and indulgences, eating and drinking are those most liable to irregularity, from their being so much under the control of the will, from the gratification they afford to the senses, and from the frequent return of the desire, as well as the necessity, of complying with the intimation they convey at comparatively but short intervals. The wise provision, however, manifested in our organization, and the wide range permitted to man in the choice of his food, are such as both to allow of great diversity in his selection, and to diminish the danger of an injudicious adoption. Yet the wise limits imposed by nature cannot be frequently passed without danger. Such imprudence frequently,

* See page 53.

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indeed, punishes itself. But the repetition of excesses, or the adoption of a too great quantity, variety, or improper quality, of food and drink, is always productive of effects most injurious to the functions, and even to the organization, of those organs whose office it is to dispose of the ingesta, and to change them into healthy materials for the repair and support of the frame. If we look closely into the commencement and early progress of many of the disorders of warm climates, we shall have no difficulty in tracing how errors committed in this way influence the functions of the abdominal viscera, and derange the whole system. While occasional excesses, or deviations from the strict rules of temperance, are productive of increased action, which soon subsides if the cause be not renewed,—and while several of the consequences of such excesses remedy themselves without the assistance of art, when the functions and organization of the internal viscera are sound or not materially impaired,-yet the frequent repetition of such excitements exhausts the energies of the constitution, until they are no longer able to preserve it from suffering from the slighter causes of disease, which, in their unimpaired condition, they would have successfully withstood.

The influence of diet and regimen upon the health of Europeans in warm climates, is very forcibly shown in the varying characters or kinds of disease to which they are subject, according as the modes of living differ. European soldiers live much less fully, as respects eating, than their superiors; but they drink more spirituous liquors, and indulge in the intoxicating drinks of the country. They are also exposed more to the climate and its vicissitudes, and to the exhalations proceeding from the soil. The results of all these upon their constitutions are, a greater liability to fevers, dysentery, and the more acute form of hepatitis. On the other hand, the better classes of society, who indulge more in the gratifications of the table, who drink more wholesome beverages and in much greater moderation, and who are less exposed to the vicissitudes of the climate and to marsh exhalations, are less subject to fevers and dysentery, but more liable to stomach complaints, and to the functional and chronic disorders of the liver.

The observations now offered respecting the manner of living in warm climates generally, are, in a great measure, applicable to society in several countries in Europe; and a great proportion of the diseases which are met with in the middling and better classes of persons in these countries, derive their origin from the full living and the heating and nutritious dishes indulged in. In warm

climates, however, the hurtful effects of this sort of diet are heightened by the greater elevation of temperature, by the abundance of terrestrial exhalations floating in the atmosphere, and by the circumstance, that Europeans residing in warm countries seldom enjoy exercise to the extent to which they require it, and by the general indisposition on their parts to take it, even when they have it in their power. The succession, also, of seasons, varying so much as respects temperature in cold and temperate countries, while it tends to produce in these quarters various diseases, not materially prevalent in India or in warm climates, has a considerable influence in diminishing the evils resulting from full living, and in invigorating the system generally. Within the tropics, the bracing effects of a cool dry air are seldom felt; and the continued operation of a high temperature and a moist air loaded with miasmata, most materially impairs the powers of life, diminishes and otherwise deranges the secreting viscera, and renders over-feeding, and all other kinds of intemperance, productive of plethora, and the diseases resulting therefrom, as well as those maladies which spring directly from a morbid state of the secretions concerned in the functions of digestion and chylification.

CHAPTER II.

ON THE EARLY OR PREMONITORY SYMPTOMS OF INTERTROPICAL

DISEASES.

It will be admitted by all practitioners, that disease is generally far advanced before application is made for relief. In civil life this is a circumstance which the physician cannot control, however he may regret it; but it is somewhat different with the regimental surgeon. He is constantly with his men; and if his attention be directed to the well-being of those under his charge, he may often observe, even in the change of countenance, the approach of disease. By carefully and watchfully discharging his duty, in warm climates more particularly, and by detecting the accession of disorder, he acquires a great advantage over the practitioner in civil life, an advantage which he may turn to account, either in checking disease at its outset, by the treatment which he may then adopt, or in diminishing its severity and danger through its advanced stages, when it cannot be arrested. That these advantages are attainable by those who are anxious for the health and efficiency of the individuals committed to their charge, was very forcibly impressed upon me during the expedition to Java, when in charge of His Majesty's 78th regiment. On all occasions of actual service within the tropics, the efficiency of every man is of the utmost importance; and with that feeling, my attention was particularly drawn to the men under my charge; not only to give assistance when called upon, but to endeavour to prevent disease. In order to gain this desirable end, I made it a point, during the passage to Java, from April to August 1811, at the daily parade of each company, and often when the men were off duty, to examine the expression of their countenances; and whenever I observed any sign that marked the slightest degree of disorder, I immediately instituted farther inquiry, and resorted to means suited to the information obtained. The good effects of this attention were manifested on the disembarkment of the troops at Java. Not more than seven were left sick out of about 500 men in the head-quarter