d dollars on the druggist who
supplied him.

I know of no such law in this country. The theory of our government
leaves people to take care of themselves as much as possible. But now
let us see what some of these fifty ingredients will do. Beets and
carrots, honey and liquorice, orange-peel and molasses, will not do much
harm; though I should think tipplers would prefer them as the customer
at the eating-house preferred his flies, "on a separate plate." But the
case is different with cocculus indicus, and stramonium, and sulphuric
acid, and sugar of lead, and the like. I take the following accounts, so
far as they are medical, from a standard work by Dr. Dunglison:--Aloes
is a cathartic. Cocculus indicus contains picrotoxin, which is an "acrid
narcotic poison;" from five to ten grains will kill a strong dog. The
boys often call it "cockle-cinders;" they pound it and mix it in dough,
and throw it into the water to catch fish. The poor fish eat it, soon
become delirious, whirling and dancing furiously about on the top of the
water, and then die. Copperas tends to produce nausea, vomiting,
griping, and purging. Grains-of-paradise, a large kind of cardamom, is
"strongly heating and carminative" (_i. e._, anti-flatulent and
anti-spasmodic.) Opium is known well enough. Stramonium-seed would seem
to have been made on purpose for the liquor business. In moderate doses
it is a powerful narcotic, producing vertigo, headache, dimness or
perversion of vision (_i. e._, seeing double) and confusion of thought.
(N. B. What else does liquor do?) In larger doses (still like liquor,)
you obtain these symptoms aggravated; and then a delirium, sometimes
whimsical (snakes in your boots) and sometimes furious, a stupor,
convulsions, and death. A fine drink this stramonium? Sugar of lead is
what is called a cumulative poison; having the quality of remaining in
the system when taken in small quantities, and piling itself up, as it
were, until there is enough to accomplish something, when it causes
debility, paralysis, and other things. Sulphuric acid is strongly
corrosive,--a powerful caustic, attacking the teeth, even when very
dilute; eating up flesh and bones alike when strong enough; and, if
taken in a large enough dose, an awfully tearing and agonizing fatal
poison.

The way to use these delectable nutriments is in part as follows:--Stir
a little sulphuric acid into your beer. This will give you a fine "old
ale" in about a quarter of a