"The funny part of it is that the animals, other than man, use me instinctively and live their appointed time; while man, in his usual big-headed way, centuries and centuries ago, gave me the lowest place among the Senses, classed my chief agent and assistant, Saliva, as merely a 'pusher' of food into the stomach, and ever since he has been in too much of a hurry to live _quick_ to take the time to live _long_; and that's what's the matter with the world."[17]
[Footnote 17: Thus ended the first edition; but in the revision its position has been changed.]
Commandante Cesare Agnelli, of His Italian Majesty's battleship, "Garibaldi," has been an earnest colleague of the authors in the Nutrition Study since the summer of 1900. Like the authors, he received in the course of experimentation such personal benefits that the continued observations have been a source of great pleasure ever since. I take from a letter, dated Taranto, Italy, some excerpts that are good evidence of the caprice of appetite under different climatic conditions together with some irrelevant matter, quoted for its good reading:--
"What a good, long, friendly letter! If it was your intention to spoil me, it certainly proved a success; and I feel so much obliged and thank you so much for the interesting description of all you saw and did during your absence from Venice this summer.
"You are too good in remembering the few words of encouragement I said to you when you first spoke to me about your experiments. The fact is that I have always regretted that my assistance in the experiments could not be of greater service; and, really, of us two I am the indebted for gratitude for the great service your discovery has done to me since the lucky day I had the pleasure of your acquaintance.
"My bad luck would not have it to allow my ship to go to England for the Coronation, though at first she was selected to be one of the three. Only two days ago I met one of our officers who was on the 'Carlo Alberto,' and he confirmed all that you wrote and all that has been printed about the magnificence of the naval review at Spithead.
"I wish now that I were with you, to be able to talk about what happened to me during this last cruise of ours, in relation to observations of nutrition. I can only report facts and feelings, and you may be able to connect them and assign the causes. You know I do not usually drink wine, only water; well, on the coast of Africa I had such a distaste for the latter that I was compelled to take beer to quench thirst, nor could I even endure mineral waters. My desire for food was quite changed, my physiological craving dictating to me quite plainly, as in a doctor's prescription, what I wanted. Even the best fish in the Mediterranean did not satisfy me. To-day it was eggs and to-morrow it was cocoa, but never meat that I felt the wish for. But what is a new caprice of desire relates to my smoking. I could not smoke a single pipe nor a cigar; only could I tolerate cigarettes, and those quite without pleasure. At Smyrna I almost fed on ices and lemonades, but always and ever I could _eat_ (not drink) my cup of cocoa in the morning. The heat on the coast of Africa at Tripoli and Ben Ghari was intense, 108° and 110° Fahrenheit, with perspiration in proportion.