ns of the mouth and fauces can be borne by the constitution with
impunity, you, Gentlemen, are abundantly competent to judge.
Physiologists agree that these secretions are intended to assist in
preparing the aliments for deglutition, by rendering them sufficiently
fluid, and afterwards, by their peculiar properties, to promote
digestion and assimilation. The great increase of these just before and
after eating, and the large quantities swallowed about that time, are
unequivocal evidence of their importance to the digestive economy. Then
what must be the state of that man's digestion, who, until seated at
table, keeps his quid in his mouth, and immediately returns it thither,
after rising from his meal? And when we reflect, that large quantities
of saliva strongly impregnated with this poison, and even particles of
the substance itself, are frequently swallowed, what, again I ask, is
the probable condition of such a person's digestive organs?

I know it may be said in reply, that such persons often consume large
quantities of food, without experiencing any perceptible inconvenience;
and I also know that they are often emaciated, notwithstanding the
enormous portion of aliment they daily consume. Under these
circumstances the emaciation arises, either from the profuse discharge
of saliva, or an imperfect digestion, or the combined influence of both.
Hence, when a man of a corpulent habit, with a keen appetite, who is
unwilling to forego his wine and to use moderation in his roast beef,
applies for professional advice to prevent corpulence, medical men very
naturally and philosophically direct him, if he persists in his excess,
to the use of tobacco, as a temporary relief, against the direful
effects of his gluttony and intemperance.

A clergyman of high standing informed me, that he acquired the habit of
using tobacco in college, and had continued the practice for a number of
years; but he found, by experience, his health materially impaired,
being often affected with sickness, lassitude, and faintness. His
muscles also became flabby and lost their tone, and his speaking was
seriously interrupted by an elongation of the uvula. His brother, an
intelligent physician, advised the discontinuance of his tobacco. He
laid it aside. Nature, freed from its depressing influence, soon gave
signs of returning vigor. His stomach resumed its wonted tone, his
muscles acquired their former elasticity, and his speaking was no more
annoye