Unrefreshed, he rises and plunges anew into the labor for which he is no
longer competent. Let him stop here; he has had his warning. Day after
day the work grows more trying, but the varied stimulants to exertion
come into play, the mind, aroused, forgets in the cares of the day the
weariness of the night season, and so, with lessening power and growing
burden, he pursues his purpose. At last come certain new symptoms, such
as giddiness, dimness of sight, neuralgia of the face or scalp, with
entire nights of insomnia and growing difficulty in the use of the
mental powers; so that to attempt a calculation, or any form of
intellectual labor, is to insure a sense of distress in the head, or
such absolute pain as proves how deeply the organs concerned have
suffered. Even to read is sometimes almost impossible; and there still
remains the perilous fact that under enough of moral stimulus the man
may be able, for a few hours, to plunge into business cares, without
such pain as completely to incapacitate him for immediate activity.
Night, however, never fails to bring the punishment; and at last the
slightest prolonged exertion of mind becomes impossible. In the worst
cases the scalp itself grows sore, and a sudden jar hurts the brain, or
seems to do so, while the mere act of stepping from a curb-stone
produces positive pain.
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