He was somewhat exhilarated and stamped with his feet to show the satisfaction he felt. The breathing then assumed a labored, almost stertorous, character, and I attempted to remove the face- piece, but he clutched it firmly and resisted my efforts to do so not long, however, for he soon began to lose consciousness and his hold relaxed. On recovering, which was almost instantaneous after removal of the inhaler, he said he felt as if just aroused form a delicious sleep. (The headache, which had troubled me during the afternoon and before going to sleep, was entirely gone, and I felt much invigorated by the effects of the gas). It produced feelings analogous to those of intoxication. He was for some time unconscious of existence, but at no period of the experiment were his sensations agreeable; a momentary nausea followed, but unconnected with languor or headache. In a subsequent trial it would appear that he did experience certain thrilling that were highly pleasurable. Sensations perfectly new and delightful. The dilute gas has almost invariably and exhilarating effect upon me; for the first few seconds the symptoms resemble those caused by the pure gas, but come on more gradually. The breathing is at first affected, and frequently at the end of a minute is of a panting character. At this stage a slight sense of suffocation may be felt, soon passing off, however, not to return again as long as the supply of Nitrous oxide is abundant. The next symptom is a feeling of fullness in the head, and a tendency to fixedness of the eyes; then it soon becomes apparent that general sensibility is affected, the perception of external objects being slower. Next is noticed a sense of increased resistance in the feet, suggesting the idea that they;might act involuntarily in throwing the body forward.
These symptoms become more marked, and develop into unmistakable dizziness, more noticeable, of course, if the inhalant is standing, and then an effort is required to maintain the equilibrium. At this stage, too, are perceived the thrilling and vibratory sensations; the accommodating power of the eye is affected, and objects are seen as through a mist. The senses of smell and hearing become more acute; distant and otherwise faintly heard sounds are judged to be near, and are distinctly heard; if they are of a rhythmical kind, as the sounds of a mason’s hammer, they seem to recur more frequently, and the appreciation of the rhythm is more acute. And now the more strictly mental symptoms come into prominence. Having on one occasion inhaled the gas when I had a rather severe headache, it was at this stage the sense of pain left me, after which it seemed to me there was an interval between the perception that the pain had given and that feeling of satisfaction which always follows sudden relief from suffering, and my mind began to busy itself with definitions of pleasure and pain; but this mood quickly changed to one of extreme self- confidence recklessness as to every other consideration but that of having plenty of Nitrous oxide, and a general feeling of contempt for all metaphysical questions whatever. Ideas rushed in a disordered current through my mind, and delirium set in. It is at the commencement of this stage that the mind loses the power of discriminating between the appropriate and the ridiculous, and is preternaturally susceptible of receiving and being influenced by suggestions from without; and it is on the ideas and actions now initiated that the delicious intoxication turns. The ideas seem, as it were, to expand beyond the recognition the mind, which at this point in its disordered activity also seems to vault over that interval which, in its normal condition, it recognizes to exist between the wish and its realization. Automatic acts succeed each other, or are repeated with great rapidity, and are performed in an exaggerated manner, the subject of the experiment shouting and gesticulating with the greatest vehemence should he wish to communicate any, even the most trivial thing, and often repeating the last word of a sentence many times, and each time in a louder key. I have endeavored to arrest the action of the gas in all stages of its operation, with a view of analyzing, if possible, the state of mind indicated by the confident belief that a great discovery has been made. When it is considered with what avidity the gas is inspired, and that it is necessary that the inhalation should be discontinued at the very moment when the enjoyment it is affording is at its height, and when all sense of prudence and responsibility seems to be annihilated, it will be understood how great are the difficulties in the way of success in such an attempt. On account of the delirium which always accompanies this condition I could never be certain, on recovering from the effects of the gas, that I not had passed through a short stage of unconsciousness, nor that the idea my mind had grasped, as being the last that had passed through it, was indeed the last. In the milder forms of delirium it has seemed to me as though consciousness kept ebbing and flowing. I feel sure, however, that in some instances I have been able to secure the receding thought and to retain it until the momentary confusion of mind had passed off. Two such instances I will describe. On one occasion I wanted to find out how much gas was being consumed in the experiment, and impressed on my mind the exceeding desirableness of learning this. On emerging from the state of delirium I found myself with uplifted hand in the act of striking my knee, to impress upon my memory the fact that I had refilled the inhaling bag; and I fancied that I either had shouted, or was upon the point of doing so, in a triumphant voice, “I have filled it again.” The act by which I sought to emphasize the important observation was a repetition of a blow I had already given my knee, as there was still some feeling of it left, and I thought that it was due to this that I had so suddenly awaked to perfect consciousness. I found that I really had turned the key to admit;more of the gas into the bag. Had I not came to myself at that moment, I have no doubt that in the next this trivial occurrence would have been magnified beyond recognition, and have left the feeling that I had discovered the secret of the universe. The second time, returning clearness of intellect found me vociferating, in a most triumphant tone of voice, and each time I fancied in a higher key, “Off, off, off.” In this case the predominant idea, before the commencement of the experiment, had been that I should notice how, and in what time, I passed off into unconsciousness. Again, to show how susceptible to suggestion the mind becomes under the influence of Nitrous oxide, and how it takes up and exaggerates any activity, whether bodily or mental, and how great the tendency is to dwell on and intensify and process of thought or series of automatic acts, I may describe how I was affected by the gas on other occasions. I respired it standing, to notice whether this position would in any way incite to bodily activity. As soon as I felt the influence of the gas stealing over me I commenced gesticulating, and immediately;noticed a strong tendency to repeat the same movements, which, thought at first wholly voluntary, soon became automatic in character, and required an effort to stop them.
Commencing to shuffle about my feet as if dancing, I quickly found myself; going through the steps of a Scotch reel, the only dance I ever properly learned, and which I believed I had forgotten. Each step was made with more alacrity than the one before, until I found it impossible to maintain any degree of accurate adaptation of the inhaler to my face, and then the feelings of exhilaration died away. On almost immediately resuming the inhalation in the sitting posture, however, I passed into the delirious stage in a few seconds. I have found that, by imitating the contortions of face attendant upon crying or laughing, I can at will, at a certain stage in the operation of Nitrous oxide, induce a most uncontrollable paroxysms of either.
The general propensity;to laughter, I have thought, might be attributable, in some measure at least, to the fact that when the inhalation has been continued a certain length of time, convulsive contractions of the diaphragm always occur, which would, of course, initiate one very important movement in the automatic series accompanying laughter. The sense of hurry and tumultuous rushing of ideas through the mind may be exaggerated by, if it is not, in a great degree, due to, the furious panting which is commonly observed before delirium sets in. He found that he could breathe nine quarts of Nitrous oxide for three minutes, and twelve quarts for rather more than four; but that be could never breathe it, in any quantity, so long as five minutes.
Whenever its operation was carried to the highest extent, the pleasurable thrilling, at its height about the middle of the experiment, gradually diminished, the sense of pressure on the muscles was lost, impressions ceased to be perceived, vivid ideas passed rapidly through the mind, and voluntary power was altogether destroyed, so that the mouthpiece generally dropped from his un closed; lips. When he breathed from six to seven quarts, muscular motions were produced to a great extent;;sometimes he manifested his pleasure by stamping or laughing; at other times, by dancing round the room and vociferating. I put myself into the hands of the dentist one morning after my breakfast, and, after inhaling the gas for the average time, soon became insensible; that is, to physical pain; but my mental tortures, during that short period, were beyond endurance. It was a nightmare of the mind, pure and simple, in which no earthly objects took part. I was like Blake, or any other madman you might name, trying in that exquisitely painful moment to solve the insoluble and grasp the illimitable; I was now endeavoring to conceive what lay beyond all space, and now trying to realize the condition of nothing. Then came a spiral winding from an infinite distance into a point, when I exclaimed to myself, “I can bear it no longer; I am going mad,” and at that instant I awoke. I was perfectly collected, asked if the tooth was out, and declared that I had felt no pain. I rose and was about to leave when, being faint, I again sat down and was placed in a horizontal position. Some brandy was given me, and in about half an hour I revived. I again rose to leave; but on reaching the street-door, I became faint once more, and was obliged to return. In another hour I was assisted home, a few yards, feeling exceedingly ill, and was compelled to lie down again when I reached my study. Presently I thought I could see a patient who was waiting to consult me; but after conversing with him a short time, the faintness again came over me and I took once more to my couch. This state of things continued for four or five hours, and was then succeeded by a severe headache, which lasted for the rest of the day. Next morning I rose very “seedy,” as if I had just come off a sea-voyage, and for a week afterwards was exceedingly unwell, feeling low and depressed, as if my whole nervous system had received a severe shock, which indeed it had.
Born in 1837in Westminster, Vermont. . He was an orthodox doctor who converted to homeopathy
Dr. Allen compiled the Encyclopedia of Pure Materia Medica over the course of 10 years.
In 1881 Allen published A Critical Revision of the Encyclopedia of Pure Materia Medica.