. The fat happy babe of four
and twenty hours before is scarcely to be recognised in the miserable
little being, with sunken lustreless eyes, and wizened features, and
miserable countenance, lying in a state of half-stupor, sensible only to
pain, which yet rouses it but to utter a moan, and then sinks again into
silent suffering. I can well believe what we are told, that in some
countries this, the so-called Summer Complaint of many of the American
cities, sometimes carries off children in a few hours.

If a fatal termination does not take place speedily, the disease passes
into the chronic stage, the diarrh[oe]a diminishing in frequency, but
the pain and straining, and the unhealthy character of the evacuations
persisting. Ulceration of the bowels has taken place, emaciation becomes
extreme, and the child often sinks at the end of several weeks, worn out
by suffering; while recovery, doubtful at the best, is always very slow.
But I need not pursue this subject further: enough has already been said
to show how little infantile diarrh[oe]a is a disorder for domestic
management.

=Peritonitis=, or inflammation of the membrane covering the bowels and
lining the cavity of the belly, is of excessive rarity in its acute
form; and is attended by such general illness and such severe local
suffering, that it is impossible to overlook it or to misapprehend its
gravity. Severe pain in the belly is sometimes complained of by
children, and is due to what is termed colic, a spasm of the bowels
which is generally associated with constipation. The great test of the
cause of the pain is furnished by the presence or absence of tenderness
on pressure. The pain of colic is relieved by gentle pressure and gentle
rubbing. The pain of inflammation in any degree and of any kind is
aggravated by them. This applies also to cases, not indeed very common,
in which inflammation is set up by some small body, such as a
cherry-stone getting fixed in a little offshoot or appendage of about
the size and length of the little finger, connected with the
commencement of the large bowel, and producing ulceration. In these
circumstances the bowels are confined, there are nausea and sickness,
together with pain and tenderness of the belly, especially on the right
side. The disease is a very dangerous one, and often proves fatal in the
course of a few days. I refer to it because I have often seen it
overlooked both by parents and doctors at its outset, since t