XIX. _Corpulency._—Malt liquor and wine drinkers are, for the most part, corpulent, a state of body which rarely attends the spirit drinker, unless he be, at the same time, a _bon vivant_. Both wines and malt liquors are more nourishing than spirits. Under their use, the blood becomes, as it were, enriched, and a universal deposition of fat takes place throughout the system. The omentum and muscles of the belly are, in a particular manner, loaded with this secretion; whence the abdominal protuberance so remarkable in persons who indulge themselves in wines and ales. As the abdomen is the part which becomes most enlarged, so is it that which longest retains its enlargement. It seldom parts with it, indeed, even in the last stages, when the rest of the body is in a state of emaciation. There can be no doubt that the parts which first lose their corpulency are the lower extremities. Nothing is more common than to see a pair of spindle shanks tottering under the weight of an enormous corporation, to which they seem attached more like artificial appendages, than natural members. The next parts which give way, are the shoulders. They fall flat, and lose their former firmness and rotundity of organization. After this, the whole body becomes loose, flabby, and inelastic; and five years do as much to the constitution as fifteen would have done under a system of strict temperance and sobriety. The worst symptom that can befall a corpulent man, is the decline of his lower extremities.[32] So long as they continue firm, and correspond with the rest of the body, it is a proof that there is still vigour remaining; but when they gradually get attenuated, while other parts retain their original fulness, there can be no sign more sure that his constitution is breaking down, and that he will never again enjoy his wonted strength.