They were
narcotics. There were two of them, and one was a medicine which the Vicar explained he was to use only if his neuritis grew unendurable.
This is the reason why bards love wine, mead,
narcotics, coffee, tea, opium, the fumes of sandal -wood and tobacco, or whatever other procurers of animal exhilaration.
He did not have it tested, as I did, for a
narcotic."
From time to time one of the smokers, overcome with the
narcotic, would slip under the table, whereupon the waiters, taking him by the head and feet, carried and laid him upon the bed.
"It is already done," he said; "brucine is no longer employed, but a simple
narcotic! I can recognize the flavor of the alcohol in which it has been dissolved.
Only, in the midst of his fever, a hand as soft as velvet and as cool as the night sea-wind touched his forehead, and a voice sounded in his ears so sweetly that the blood burned no longer in his veins, so sweetly that he lay back upon his pillow like a man under the influence of a strong
narcotic and slept.
Then he mixed a
narcotic, and coming over to the bed, said cheerily, "Now, little miss, here is your medicine.
One evening he mixed a powerful
narcotic with my water.
Yet his presence, his manners, the warmth of his glances, and above all the touch of his lips upon her hand had acted like a
narcotic upon her.
But for the last few weeks a new influence had come over Hetty-- vague, atmospheric, shaping itself into no self-confessed hopes or prospects, but producing a pleasant
narcotic effect, making her tread the ground and go about her work in a sort of dream, unconscious of weight or effort, and showing her all things through a soft, liquid veil, as if she were living not in this solid world of brick and stone, but in a beatified world, such as the sun lights up for us in the waters.
Every one seemed to be under the influence of some
narcotic. Even the officers aft, whose duty required them never to be seated while keeping a deck watch, vainly endeavoured to keep on their pins; and were obliged invariably to compromise the matter by leaning up against the bulwarks, and gazing abstractedly over the side.
Between them, they actually made Aunt Myra laugh heartily more than once; and Rose did her so much good by letting in the sunshine, singing about the silent house, cooking wholesome messes, and amusing the old lady with funny little lectures on physiology, that she forgot to take her pills and gave up "Mum's Elixir," because she slept so well, after the long walks and drives she was beguiled into taking, that she needed no
narcotic.