_TO THE MUSCLES._--The muscles, as you know, cover and move the bones; good
blood makes them grow, and keeps them healthy and strong. People like to
have plenty of good muscle, for this not only gives them strength, but
makes them look plump and well.
Alcohol poisons the blood by killing many of the very little, round, red
parts in it, called by a long name, which you can learn if you try. This
hard name is _corpuscles_ [kor'pussls]; _corpuscle_ means _a little body_.
These little bodies float in the fluid portion of the blood, and go to
every part of the body to help keep it alive and healthy. When alcohol
hurts them, they turn into a poor kind of fat, like suet, and cannot do any
good. They stay in different parts and do much harm. Sometimes they lodge
between the muscles, and make a person look strong because plump; but he is
not strong, for his muscles are filled with fat.
Sometimes the liver or the heart, which are only large muscles, become so
heavy and soft with fat that they cannot do their work properly; they
become weak and diseased, wear out, and cause the death of their owner, who
has poisoned them with ale, wine, or other alcoholic drink.
_TO THE SKIN._--Alcohol hurts the skin also, by feeding it with poisoned
blood, by giving the pores extra work in carrying off some of the alcohol
in the perspiration, and by making the little blood-vessels larger than
they should be in a way you will learn more about by and by.
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